


Echo

by digitaldreams



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Friday Updates, Gen, Not Beta Read, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 50,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: The future is an echo of the past. Shadow is an echo of sun. War is an echo of peace. All it takes is a single sound to change everything.~~~~~Three years have passed since the fall of BelialVamdemon, and the Chosen Children have been growing up all the while. Their adventures appear to be behind them, but the arrival of a new Chosen Child shows the twelve that their work isn’t done yet. Various mysterious figures known as Emissaries of Chaos have been infiltrating Earth with rogue Digimon, leaving countless innocent people in danger. The Chosen Children are left suspended between the past and future, and they’ll need to unravel both if they ever want to see tomorrow.{Digimon Adventure Tri Rewrite. Updated Fridays.}
Relationships: Himekawa Maki/Nishijima Daigo, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Takenouchi Sora, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 15





	1. Whisper of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the final day of spring break, Taichi has an unfortunate encounter on Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Here we are. 
> 
> Those of you that follow Frontiers Unexplored (my Digimon Frontier rewrite) will have known about this for a while now. I've been planning this story since July of 2020, and I'm so happy to finally be able to release it to the world. The time is now, everyone! 
> 
> I do want to say from the beginning that the origins of this story are somewhat complicated. This story could very easily be called a rewrite, but whether you do or not is entirely up to you. On one hand, you could call it canon divergence considering the fact that it takes place in the same timeframe as Tri but is just radically different. On the other hand, I did write this for the sake of making it a rewrite, so... It's up to you, I suppose. 
> 
> If you want me to be honest, this has very few things in common with the canon version of Tri. There are a few characters here (most notably Meiko, Meicoomon, Daigo, and Maki), but aside from that, the plot beats are entirely different. The timeframe is similar, but that's about where the similarities end. The 02 kids are here, the plot takes a completely different direction, and the end goal is a huge contrast as well. Unlike my Frontier rewrite (which maintains quite a few plot beats from the canon iteration), this is completely different. Still, I guess that what you want to call it is up to you. 
> 
> I also want to say that I do not hate Digimon Tri. I don't hate Frontier, and I don't hate Tri. I'm rewriting them because I have different ideas about how I would have written them. I wouldn't be doing all of this for both Frontier and Tri if I didn't love them as much as I do. This is my take on the story, and I'm not going to try and force everyone to like my version better. I simply want to get this across before anyone accuses me of bullying Tri for no reason. 
> 
> Now that I've got all that out of the way, let's get into the story itself. I've been waiting to post this for a long time, so without further ado, here is 'Echo'!

The spring sun sat high in the sky, watching down on the citizens of Odaiba with a fond smile in preparation of the day to come. Fresh yet delicate breezes blew in between large metallic buildings, and people buzzed about on the streets as they went about their daily routines. The air held a sense of freedom that everyone seemed to understand but nobody spoke of. It was a whisper in every sense of the word, bringing cheerful grins to the faces of those with the skills to understood it. 

For Taichi Yagami, it meant the final day of spring break before the new term began at his school. He stood out on the balcony of his apartment, his brown hair an unbrushed mess atop his head. Taichi took in a slow breath, embracing the last traces of winter chill before they were swallowed away by the soft breeze around him. He opened his eyes a moment later, still leaning against the railing of the balcony as he looked down on the city below. 

Spring had come and gone in the blink of an eye as far as Taichi was concerned. One day, he had been enjoying the start of his freedom from the pressures of an academic routine, and the next, it felt like everything had slipped away through his fingers like the finest grains of sand to ever grace the surface of the earth. Days spent at soccer practice had bled away before he knew it, and he would be back to the regular grind again before he knew it. He yearned to embrace the final day of his freedom from schedules and pressure, but he knew that he couldn't simply stand around and enjoy his time on the balcony for the whole day. 

The balcony door slid open, and Taichi turned at the sound to see his sister joining him outside of the Yagami family's apartment. Hikari's hair was neatly combed as usual, pinned away from her face by a pair of pink barrettes that made her brownish red eyes seem to glow in the sun's radiance. As usual, she was far more put together than Taichi could ever hope to be, and anyone would have been able to see the difference between the two siblings at simply a first glance. 

"You should get going if you don't want to be late for your last soccer practice of the break," Hikari told him as she flashed a smile in her brother's direction. The wind began to play with her short chestnut hair, and Hikari let out a small sigh to herself. "At least the weather is nice."

Taichi pulled himself to his full height before he stretched his arms above his head and releasing a heavy breath of his own. "You can say that again," he told her with a snort. A few days prior, the sky hadn't offered quite as many spring blessings, and the day had been filled with dreary rain. Taichi had complained about the mud of the soccer field as soon as he got home, and Hikari, being his sister, simply had to tease him about it. Taichi and Hikari's dynamic simply came with the territory, and Taichi wouldn't have had it any other way. 

He made his way towards the balcony door, and he slid it open before stepping into the house. Taichi shot a quick glance in the direction of the clock mounted against the wall, and he winced when he realized how much he had allowed the time to get away from him. Normally, he was on top of things like this, but it appeared that the last valuable pieces of spring had stolen his attention before he realized what was happening. 

"See you later!" Hikari called as Taichi dashed towards the door and slipped into his shoes. Taichi threw out a hand to seize the straps on his soccer bag before he slung it over his shoulders, and the contents of the bag began to jostle with the swift motion. Hikari let out a laugh when Taichi gave her a brief wave before running out of their apartment, always one to recognize her brother's charms. He was most certainly having an off day, and she could tell. 

Taichi's dash towards the stairwell included scanning a hand haphazardly through his hair to try and find order among the chaos of tangles. He cringed when he caught on a particularly nasty knot, cursing the fact that the elevator had been out for the past two days due to maintenance. It certainly would have given him a chance to work out his hair without needing to multitask as he dashed in the direction of his school. Taichi was inwardly thankful for the fact that he had remembered to eat breakfast before he was caught up in melancholy reminiscence and the reminder of responsibility that lingered over his shoulders at all times. 

The mad dash down the stairs accomplished one thing for all of the irritations that it caused him. At the very least, it helped Taichi to warm up in advance before he could get anywhere near the soccer field. That had to count for something despite how frustrating it was to put up with as he combed through his hair. He finally came to a halt on the ground level of the building, and he was almost positive that the contents of his bag would be an absolute mess by the time that he investigated them again. 

Taichi found himself breaking free of his apartment building's confines soon afterwards, and he was interrupted by the sudden looming figure of a nearby shadow that was far taller than any car had a right to be. Taichi slid to a stop before he could hit anything unexpectedly, his lungs taking this as a chance to absorb as much oxygen as possible. Taichi's gaze frantically passed over the nearby area to try and find a source for the sudden change of atmosphere. 

Taichi's eyes finally fell on a large truck that was parked near the building's entrance, and he saw that there was a woman with dark hair reaching the bottom of her shoulder blades carrying a box away from the back of the vehicle. There was a bright and personable smile on her face, and she locked gazes with Taichi for a long moment before moving towards the building. Taichi somehow guessed that she would have waved if her hands hadn't already been occupied by other matters. 

Taichi stepped away from the door to make room for the woman, and curiosity began to manifest in the back of his mind. He recognized belatedly that the truck in question was meant to help people who were relocating homes, and Taichi winced at the realization that he hadn't come to such a blatant conclusion sooner. He tried to divert his attention back to the matter at hand, knowing that he had to get to the soccer field as soon as possible. He couldn't get distracted when there were people counting on him to arrive on time. 

A figure suddenly left the apartment building as well, and they almost collided with Taichi thanks to sheer bad luck. A gasp left their lips, and Taichi turned to see the culprit behind the sound. The back of his mind nagged at him once again to start moving so that he wasn't late for practice, but his curiosity ultimately got the better of him before he could listen to the instructions brought on by logic. 

It was a girl about his age with dark hair. Her black tresses fell over her shoulders straight as could be, and her bangs hung low enough that they threatened to swallow the top edge of her gleaming dark eyes. She wore large glasses that almost seemed to be used as a shield to block out the rest of the world. 

For a moment, their eyes met, and the girl watched him in solemn curiosity. They stared at one another for a long moment before Taichi realized that he was already falling behind schedule. He made a mental note to ask about who the girl was at a later point before backing away and dashing in the direction of the bike parking space for the apartment, his bag rustling with each motion. 

As Taichi settled down to get on his bike, he strapped his bag into the basket attached to the front of the bicycle. He did a silent check for everything that he could have needed, and his fingers fumbled restlessly around the outside edge of his bag to make sure that he could feel his cleats and spare soccer ball inside. His water bottle was within the fabric as well, and while Taichi was sure that it had only been half filled after the previous day's practice, he figured that would be a problem for him to deal with after he arrived at the school. For the time being, he had to get going. 

The last thing that Taichi felt for as he pulled his helmet free of the spot where it was strapped around the bicycle's metallic frame was a small device at his hip. His fingers closed around his pale turquoise Digivice, and Taichi let out a sigh of relief that he had remembered to grab it before his session of wonder on his apartment's balcony. It had become habit for him to bring it with him, a small and simple way for him to feel connected to the Digital World that he always took the chance to embrace. 

Taichi began his trip to the soccer field, passing through the familiar route without any issues. His thoughts, still wandering from his moment of curiosity earlier in the morning, drifted to the Digimon after the contact with his Digivice. He hadn't seen them in a few weeks, though Taichi was positive that they would reunite soon enough. They always did. 

Following the fall of BelialVamdemon, the gate to the Digital World had closed temporarily to help the to realms recover from the severe damage that had been done to the barrier. After it opened once again, the Digimon were given the chance to return to Earth whenever they so chose. It wasn't uncommon for the Digimon partners of the twelve Chosen Children of Odaiba to move back and forth as they pleased, and it seemed like at least one of them was always on the Earth side of the gate at any given moment. They couldn't stick around all the time to ensure that they didn't grow too exhausted, but they did come around quite a bit when they got the chance. 

Agumon and Tailmon had last been in the Yagami household the week before, but Agumon had decided that he wanted to return to the Digital World to recuperate since Taichi was going to be spending far more time at soccer practice than usual in preparation for the new school year. Taichi was positive that it was only a matter of time before he and Agumon were back together as they had been before. Nothing in the world was able to keep them apart, and Taichi doubted that anything would ever be able to obscure such a fact from reality. 

The wind continued to pull at the hair that hadn't been shoved inside of Taichi's helmet, and he sighed into the breeze when he realized that all of his hard work to comb through his hair was being undone. Still, he wouldn't be able to worry about it as long as he was focusing on getting to the soccer field. That was a concern for him to concentrate on after he was off his bicycle. 

For the time being, Taichi simply allowed the world to streak by around him, and the peace of spring settled down over Odaiba like a perfectly fine mist. He would be returning to school the following day, but for that moment, he was free, and that was all that mattered. 

~~~~~

Within the Digital World, the shadows of a darkened forest began to contort before releasing a figure draped in black robes. It was still nighttime in this section of the realm, and the sun had sunk over the horizon long ago. Few creatures shifted in the darkness, and that gave the figure the perfect chance to move without being undetected. 

It wasn't as if they were looking for anything or anyone in particular. All that mattered was that they found something that they would be able to use. The specifics were unimportant as long as it allowed all of the pieces of their plan to fall into place. Their search was as broad as it was hushed and secretive, and they didn't mind in the slightest. 

The first figure to appear within their line of vision was a large red beetle Digimon that could easily be identified as a Kuwagamon. The creature wasn't moving, silent and serene in its slumbering state. The figure allowed themselves a chance to smirk as they approached the massive creature. One hand shifted to their pocket, and they removed a small square patch from within the fabric. 

All it took was a single quick motion for half of the patch to be peeled away, revealing a writhing square of dark data that didn't seem to be able to sit still no matter how hard it tried. They held up the patch towards the Kuwagamon, and the data shone with black light before streaking through the air with a shrill shriek that sounded more like a comet than a simple patch of shadow. 

The Kuwagamon didn't even have the chance to stir before the patch had been connected firmly to the surface of its shell. A dark sheen passed over its surface before it rose to its feet, the dark data still flashing and flickering to show its activity. The creature's movements hardly seemed natural, and it didn't seem to have the ability to control its own actions. 

The figure in black robes let out another twisted and sadistic smile before they once again dug into their pocket, producing a small palmtop computer that sat easily between their fingers. After they typed out a single command, the air around them began to distort, sucking them towards the screen of the device in their hand. The Kuwagamon answered their call and began to move closer as well. 

"Come," the figure said simply, and the Kuwagamon's body began to twitch as a sign that it was listening. "We have much work to do."

Both the hooded figure and the Kuwagamon were gone in the blink of an eye. They disappeared as if they had never been there at all, and the small computer within the hand of the hooded figure vanished along with them. Once again, the forest returned to silence, and the night settled into peace without a moment of hesitation, unaware of what had just taken place or what was bound to occur within the near future. 

~~~~~

Taichi didn't know how to describe it, but he could feel that something was wrong. 

He was over halfway to the soccer fields, and the city of Odaiba continued to shift around him in an ever-changing blur of human activity. Still, there was something that felt off to him, as if a shiver was repeatedly running up his spine as the seconds crawled by. He tasted something vile on the back of his tongue, and Taichi did his best to glance around the area and find out what the cause of his anxiety could have been while still not veering off course. 

The buzzing sound came next, and it echoed in Taichi's ears like the most horrible scream known to man. He winced instinctively, trying to place where he had heard the overwhelming noise before. He could feel the shadow before it came close to him, and he instinctively slammed down on the pedals of his bike in a reverse direction to keep himself from pressing onwards. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. 

Taichi had freed himself from the confines of his bike when he glanced up to the sky, and a gasp forced itself free of his lips as he saw the outline of a large red bug towering overhead. His eyes went wide, and he watched as the familiar silhouette of Kuwagamon can swooping down towards the ground, maddened in its desperate search for prey. Taichi could feel the few brown hairs that were free of his helmet begin to blow rapidly under the influence of the overhead wind, and he grabbed his bike before pulling it to the nearby railing that blocked off the street from the grass nearby. Taichi's hand was inside of his bag in the blink of an eye, and he fumbled around madly for the familiar outline of his phone, thankful that he had remembered to drop it in his bag before he dashed out of his apartment so abruptly earlier that morning. 

Taichi's fingers finally found what he was searching for, and he let out a sigh of relief as he flicked it open. He moved as quickly as he could manage as he typed out a message to a familiar group of people who would need to be aware of what was happening. His heart continued to pound in his chest, and he glanced up each time that he could get the chance to do so, still keeping an eye on the outline of Kuwagamon overhead. 

Taichi had barely managed to push out an explanation of what had happened before Kuwagamon came sweeping down once again. It was only after Taichi's gaze locked squarely on the red bug that he realized that the monster was coming after him. His eyes went wide, and he ducked downwards with his hands pressed over his head despite the helmet hiding his hair from view. The Kuwagamon roared as it passed too close to the ground for comfort, this time nearing Taichi enough that he could have sworn that he felt some of the beast's saliva dripping down onto his arms. 

The snap of metal pulled Taichi's attention away from his own fears, and he glanced over to see that a streetlamp had been knocked free from its base, left to clatter noisily against the nearby street. Taichi's ears were filled with the telltale echo of screams coming from the nearby people of Odaiba. The previous sense of peace and relaxation had been shattered in the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing but terror in its place. Taichi winced. So much for freedom on his last day off of school. 

Taichi's phone vibrated in his palm, and he glanced down with all of the feral desperation that came with mounting adrenaline. The response had come from Sora, and Taichi's chest lost half of its previous tension at the sight of her name. Even if the world turned against him, he could always count on Sora to have his back. 

_'Going to the Digital World now with Hikari. We'll be there as soon as we can with the Digimon.'_

Taichi let out a harsh bark of a laugh before he forced himself to look away from the comfort of his phone and to the sky up above. Kuwagamon was once again rearing back for another attack, and Taichi swallowed dryly when he recognized who the target was. Kuwagamon wasn't simply rampaging mindlessly. He most certainly had an aim, and Taichi was sure that he had already figured it out. 

Taichi snapped his phone shut before shoving it back into his bag, hoping to keep it safe from anything that could potentially cut off his one avenue of communication from the rest of the group. He hadn't used his D-Terminal on Earth regularly in quite some time, and he prayed that this wasn't the incident to teach him the error of his ways. His phone made it pointless to carry around the device on Earth, though the D-Terminals retained their utility in the Digital World. 

In that moment though, the Digital World didn't matter as much. The point was that Kuwagamon was on Earth, and that was a much larger problem than potentially being late to soccer practice. Taichi had been bound to this sense of duty in both responsibility and determination for years, and he wasn't about to let it go when the world needed him most. 

However, there wasn't all that much that he could do aside from wait until Sora and Hikari arrived with the Digimon. It made sense that Sora would go with Hikari to retrieve the Digimon in hindsight. Taichi had accidentally left one of his jackets over at her house a few days prior when the two were spending time with Yamato, but since Taichi had gotten so busy with soccer practice, he hadn't been given the time to run by and pick it up. Sora had likely decided to drop it off before school so that the responsibility was off her shoulders, and that would have put her with Hikari for the impending disaster. For the first time, Taichi thanked his own forgetfulness since it was going to be the thing to save his tail. 

Taichi watched the skies once again, but it didn't take long for his gaze to settle on Kuwagamon once again. He winced at the sight of his attacker, and he wondered what in the world could have caused all of this. The barrier had been stable for the past three years. After the fall of BelialVamdemon, everything began to slide into place as if nothing so wrong had happened in the first place. This Kuwagamon targeting him didn't make any sense to him either, and Taichi shivered once again at the idea of this leading to something awful. His shudder had nothing to do with the final shadows of winter that spring zephyrs were continuing to chase away with each passing second. 

Taichi's impatience only mounted in the moments that followed, and he prayed in vain for Sora and Hikari to arrive as soon as possible. If not them, then he wanted to see one of the others. Kuwagamon wasn't a difficult Digimon to fight, but if it was running loose on Odaiba, then that was most certainly a problem. Taichi bit his lip and tapped his foot as Kuwagamon came down for another attack, and each second began to stretch on to become a century. 

~~~~~

Odaiba was different from what she was used to. 

The outline of an orange cat could be seen weaving in between buildings, and her tail followed behind her without a scrap of disobedience. A wild mane of white surrounded her neck, making her look far more majestic than a common house cat could have ever hoped to be. Paws hit the ground as she darted in search of something new that could pique her interest. 

The cat came to a stop in the shadow of a particularly large building and sat down with a light exhale of air. Her name was as of yet unknown to nearly everyone in Odaiba. Many would have likely suspected her to be nothing more than a trick of the sun, an illusion that few would want to believe, and that was for the best. After all, no cat looked quite like she did, and there was a reason for it. 

It wasn't as if the cat had permission to roam Odaiba at her own leisure. She was used to having more than enough room to romp around and chase whatever caught her attention back where she was from, but Odaiba didn't fall into this category at all. It was far too cramped for something like that, and there were more people than she was used to. Seeing so many of them at once was overwhelming for her, and tracking all of their motions was a new challenge that she hadn't ever anticipated that she would run into. 

The cat stretched her head upwards in the direction of the sun overhead, watching as a few clouds of puffy white began to roll through the sky with all the effort of turning the page of a book. She tilted her head to the side slightly in curiosity. Buildings marred her view of the overhead air as opposed to the trees that she was accustomed to, and she found herself yearning for the welcome sensation of home. 

Still, she wasn't anticipating experiencing anything of that nature for quite some time. After all, the move to Odaiba was permanent as far as she was aware. It was work that had brought her there, or more specifically, the work of someone who she was heavily affiliated with, and she was fully aware that nobody else had any intentions of returning except for holidays to visit relatives. The cat would simply have to get used to her new surroundings no matter what it took. 

The outline of something new flashed through her vision, and the cat frowned as she saw a red beetle too large to be natural streak through the air. That was far from being normal. Odaiba was strange, but she didn't think that it was monster in the sky level strange. Then again, she supposed that she didn't have much room to judge considering what she was. 

The cat crept slowly out of the alleyway that she had briefly settled down in, and she saw people running in the direction opposite of the large bug. They were desperate to find a way to escape regardless of what it took, and the cat's ears almost seemed to recoil from their place atop her head at all of the overwhelming noise. Her home had never been this noisy, but she supposed that was simply another thing that she would have to adjust to. 

She watched the bug once again, and she saw as the red beetle honed in on one figure in particular, a young man standing beside his bike. He crouched down against the onslaught of wind from all directions, almost falling to the ground in his moment of terror. Unlike everyone, he refused to run, and the cat found herself hissing in disproval. What was he thinking, simply standing there? He was going to get hurt, especially if the bug was truly attempting to target him. 

She would simply have to make sure that nothing bad happened to him. The cat understood that she was far stronger than she appeared, and she wasn't about to allow anything to hurt those around her. This matter didn't involve her technically, but that hadn't ever stopped her from getting into scuffles with animals before. Of course, those had simply been stray raccoons that had wandered into the trash and not giant monsters, but the cat was going to do what she could to win the day regardless. 

Before she knew what she was doing, the cat found herself bounding in the direction of the young man the bug was targeting. He had mounted his bike and started to move away from the buildings, likely in the direction of a place that held less people. Given how terrified everyone else around him was, the cat assumed that this was the best option. Besides, it didn't impact her in the slightest. She would be able to fight regardless of location, and she was more than fast enough to keep up with a bike. 

The cat kept her eyes locked firmly on the silhouette of the young man as she wove through the fleeing figures that surrounded her on all directions. This wasn't exactly how she anticipated she would spend her first day in a new place, but the world didn't often care what she thought. She was going to find a way to win this fight, and there was nothing that anyone would be able to do to stop her after she set her mind to such a thing. 

~~~~~

Taichi was pleased to learn that he was the only one in the area after he left his bike behind. The people who had been present during Kuwagamon's initial swipes had fled, and those limited people who were left behind during the subsequent attacks had also departed as soon as they caught sight of the large beast. Taichi kept his eyes on Kuwagamon, breathing heavily as he pulled his feet away from his bike. That had taken far more of his energy than he anticipated. Then again, pedaling for dear life was different than simply passing a ball across a soccer field, and it had been quite some time since Taichi was forced to make a mad dash for escape against an enemy. 

Kuwagamon seemed to sense his moment of weakness, and Taichi had to resist the urge to swear under his breath as the red bug swept around for another attack. He didn't know how much energy this damn bug had, but Taichi was starting to get sick of it. For the fifth time in as many minutes, he wondered where Sora and Hikari were. He knew realistically that they would arrive soon enough, but that didn't help the nerve-wracking terror that came with Kuwagamon attempting to spear Taichi with its pincers. 

Taichi threw up his arms and dropped to the ground when Kuwagamon got close in the next assault, but the expected blast of wind never passed over his head. Instead, the resounding smack of something strong making rough contact with Kuwagamon's hardened shell reached his ears, and he gasped as he forced himself to hone in visually on the source. 

Details were scarce, but Taichi could see a flash of white and orange hair flashing through the sky like a comet. He wasn't sure of what the second creature was or what it was attempting to do, but a voice in the back of his head whispered that it was a Digimon of some kind. He hadn't ever seen one of this sort, but that didn't mean that it wasn't one of the digital monsters as a whole. 

The cat landed on the ground quite a distance away, and Kuwagamon roared in pain and fury at the creature. Taichi still couldn't see much due to the space between him and his savior, but he caught a brief glance of green eyes that seemed to pierce the very soul. His eyes arrowed in response, and he watched as Kuwagamon shifted targets from Taichi to the cat. 

Before the bug could get anywhere near the newcomer, a sudden whistling sound echoed through the air, and Taichi's face immediately burst into a grin. Flames burst forward, hitting Kuwagamon in the side with immense force. He turned his head skyward on instinct and saw the outline of Birdramon in all of her fiery glory cover the sun before she settled down on the ground beside him. 

Sora was the first to hop free of Birdramon's body, and her face was set in a smile of pure relief. Her red hair was slightly askew as a result of the rushed ride atop her partner Digimon, but she still appeared to be mostly alright. At her side was Hikari, who looked only slightly more put together than Sora after the slight over Odaiba. Tailmon curled around Hikari's feet, and another figure ran towards Taichi as soon as he was away from Birdramon. The fire bird took to the skies a moment later, her blue eyes shining brightly. 

"Taichi!" came the nostalgic cry of Agumon as he ran towards his partner at full speed. It hadn't been long since their last encounter, but that didn't stop Agumon's excitement in the slightest. He threw his arms around Taichi's body, a wide grin of his face. The darkness of the situation was easily forgotten in favor of seeing each other once again. 

Tailmon cleared her throat as she approached the two, and Agumon pulled away from Taichi at the sound. "We have work to do," she reminded Agumon. When he met her gaze, Tailmon turned her attention back to the fight at hand, and she launched herself into the air to deliver a powerful punch to Kuwagamon's head, leaving the large bug to roar in pain. 

Taichi reached for his Digivice as he removed his bike helmet and set it down on the seat of the bicycle. He was about to activate the evolution Agumon needed to reach the form of Greymon, but he frowned as something caught his eye. There was a small flash of darkness across the back of the Kuwagamon's shell, barely visible and peering out only when the bug moved the right way. Was he imagining that? 

"Did you see that?" Taichi questioned, turning his attention to Sora and Hikari. "The black patch on the back of Kuwagamon's shell, I mean. You saw that too, didn't you?" He watched as their concerned expressions shifted in his direction, and Kuwagamon roared overhead. Agumon tilted his head to the side gently. 

Sora watched Kuwagamon for a moment before nodding. "Hey... You're right. His entire color scheme is a bit darker too," she murmured. She turned her head over her shoulder, almost as if she had seen something out of the corner of her gaze. She stared for a long moment before she seemed to convince herself that nothing was wrong. Her attention moved back to the battle at hand a moment later. 

"Tailmon!" Hikari cried out, cupping her hands around her mouth to call in the direction of her Digimon partner. "Try to attack the patch of darkness on Kuwagamon's back! That might be able to help us end this fight sooner!" 

Tailmon nodded in Hikari's region before she jumped in the direction of Kuwagamon once again. She moved around behind Kuwagamon, and Birdramon took this as a cue to distract Kuwagamon so that Tailmon would be able to take advantage of the weakness in the bug's defenses. Agumon took a few steps towards the fight, and he glanced to Taichi, a silent instruction of what he wanted to happen next. 

Taichi nodded his understanding and pulled his Digivice free of his belt. Light began to shine from the surface of the device a moment later, and a bar pattern passed over the pixelated screen. Taichi stared into the inferno as Agumon's shape began to change, and he was replaced by Greymon a moment later. Taichi began to beam with pride, and he nodded in his partner's direction once the transformation was complete. Greymon did the same in return, his brown eyes gleaming with mischief, before he marched in the direction of the battle. 

Kuwagamon, who had managed to escape Birdramon's fierce grasp, swept down in the direction of Greymon. The dinosaur Digimon sucked in air before a blast of flame burst forth. "Mega Flame!" Greymon cried out as the fire began to spiral through the sky in Kuwagamon's direction. The bug was hit hard in the chest, and its flight patterns were disturbed immediately, threatening to send Kuwagamon careening back down to earth. Kuwagamon only barely managed to correct himself before he hit the ground, and Taichi could almost sense the frustration of the large beetle from his place a short distance away. 

Taichi saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced in the direction of the sudden rustling. He could see the silhouette of a person shifting among the large buildings, and a lengthy trail of black hair streamed behind them. Taichi frowned to himself, and he watched as the shadow disappeared in between the buildings. He found himself remembering the orange cat from before, and part of him wondered if perhaps the two could have been related. He still didn't know who that strange Digimon was, and he wasn't sure of why the cat was there in the first place. What if the cat Digimon was a partner of a nearby Chosen Child? The person with black hair could have been their partner. 

It wasn't as if Chosen Children were as rare as they once had been. Their numbers were only growing larger with each passing year, and it seemed like either Koushiro or Takeru was updating Taichi at least once a week with news of a new Chosen Child appearing in a country around the world. It wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility to say that the new arrival was the partner of a Digimon. That would say why the Digimon was on Earth in the first place as well. Even if he didn't have any evidence, it was most certainly something for him to bring up with the other members of his team after the fight was over. 

Taichi's attention returned to the fight when he heard Tailmon let out a battle cry. "Neko Punch!" Tailmon exclaimed as she hurled herself downwards with her fist outstretched in the direction of the Kuwagamon. The black patch was within her grasp, and she was on the verge of making contact with it. 

Unfortunately, the Kuwagamon heard her coming, and it whirled around just in time for its pincers to slam into Tailmon's side. Taichi winced as Tailmon was sent sprawling backwards into a nearby building, the breath leaving her lungs along the way. She fell limply to the ground a moment later, but she raised one hand to indicate to the others that she was alright. Taichi frowned at the realization that Kuwagamon was far faster than it had any right to be. Its instincts were sharper as well, and it didn't seem natural in the slightest. Sora was right about its color scheme being slightly darker as well, and all of these facts added up to make Taichi feel oddly unsettled despite the fact that this battle should have been effortless with three, perhaps four, against one. 

"Tailmon!" Hikari shouted, her hands clapping over her mouth in ghastly shock. Her eyes were pleading for Tailmon to get up once again, and luckily for her, Tailmon understood without needing to hear any instructions. The cat Digimon had already taken off towards the battle once again a moment later, and Hikari released a sigh of relief at the sight of her partner's swift recover. 

"It's not acting like it should," Sora suddenly commented. She was holding tightly to her Digivice as a way of getting out the lingering traces of her adrenaline. "The colors are darker, and it seems so strangely aggressive... Digimon don't just wander through the barrier to come over here and start rampaging. We have Digimon of our own. We would be able to reason with most Digimon that happened to stray through."

"But it shouldn't be possible for anyone to wind up on this side of the barrier without our Digivices in the first place," Taichi finished for her, and Sora nodded her confirmation. He glanced up to the Kuwagamon and tried to put the pieces together as to how this was possible. No matter how much he tried to rationalize it, Taichi simply couldn't figure out how it all came together, and he found himself following in Sora's lead when it came to tightly grasping at Digivices. 

"Someone must have let it through," Hikari concluded. "But it's not as if any of us would do something like that... I don't even see any computers around here that could have been used to let someone through the barrier in the first place."

Taichi let out a gasp, and he began to scan through the nearby buildings desperately, trying to figure out if there was a laptop for them to use to send Kuwagamon back through as soon as they were given the chance. In the end, his gaze settled on the entryway of a nearby office building, and he could see a large desk through the blurred glass windows that made up the doors. Taichi gestured for the others to follow him as he darted in the direction of the building. He heard Birdramon cry out with her signature attack from nearby, and the Kuwagamon grunted from the force of the impact. 

Just as Taichi had seen through the window, there was a laptop on the desk. He sighed with relief upon realizing that it was a laptop and not a full console computer as he had feared. There weren't any people in the area, and Taichi figured that it was safe to assume that the occupants of the building had all gone into hiding elsewhere due to the attack from Kuwagamon. Taichi picked up the laptop after opening it, and he held it in Sora's direction. 

The redheaded girl was quick in keying out the familiar strokes that would bring up the portal to the Digital World. Her eyes flickered across the screen with a sense of speed that only adrenaline was able to provide, and Taichi saw her nod when she was finished. He glanced down to the screen to see that, just as he had suspected, the portal had been pulled up. Hikari raised her D-3 in his direction to show that she was ready to use it as soon as she was given the chance to send Kuwagamon back to the Digital World. 

When the trio of Chosen Children left behind the building, Greymon had grabbed Kuwagamon by the pincers and was attempting to throw it as far away from him as possible. Tailmon was rearing up for yet another Neko Punch attack, and she launched herself off the ground with as much strength as she could muster. When the blow finally did make contact, her gloved paw had slammed straight into the dark patch on Kuwagamon's shell. Birdramon swept down and closed her claws around the pincers of the Kuwagamon to pull it away from Greymon and towards the ground. 

Greymon, Birdramon, and Tailmon all issued quick retreats as soon as they saw that Kuwagamon was coming down. Striking the patch of data had caused him to go limp, and the beetle hit the concrete of the street roughly, knocking over yet another streetlight in the process. The metal was sent sideways in the opposite direction, and the clanging sound when the pole hit the ground made Taichi flinch from its sheer magnitude. He was focused once again on Kuwagamon a moment later. 

The dark patch was starting to subside already, and the shaded colors of its body were vanishing as well, and light spread across its shell before moving to other regions of its physical form. Kuwagamon didn't move until after the light had completely coated it, and it slowly rose to its feet in a dizzying motion. Kuwagamon didn't seem to understand where it was, and it embodied uncertainty and a lack of stability as it found its footing once again. 

"You're on, Hikari," Taichi told his sister, extending the laptop in Kuwagamon's direction as his sister reached out with her D-3. Light surrounded Kuwagamon and the screen, and the red beetle's shape began to pinch and distort before it was gone completely. Taichi shut the laptop once again, letting out a sigh as the final traces of adrenaline disappeared from his system. That certainly hadn't been anything that he expected, and he didn't think that he would fully recover from the sudden nature of such an attack until after the day had come to a close. 

Greymon and Birdramon began to alter their shapes as well, though instead of traveling through the gateway, they became Agumon and Piyomon once again. The two approached the trio of humans alongside Tailmon, and the six regarded one another with a quiet sense of pride that they had completed the battle. 

Taichi started walking back in the direction of the office building with the laptop still in his hands. He gave a nod of thanks in Sora's vicinity when she opened the door to the lobby for him once again, and he set down the laptop unceremoniously before leaving the building behind once again. Agumon, Piyomon, Hikari, and Tailmon waited for him outside, and Taichi let out a heavy sigh after they were back together. He already knew what the first question was bound to be. 

"What happened?" Piyomon asked, tilting her head to the side gently. Sure enough, she had lived up to his expectations. He had been dreading the inquiry mostly because he wasn't sure of how to answer it himself. Everything was a mystery to him surrounding the Kuwagamon attack. Every single thing that he wondered vaguely about led to a dozen more questions that he didn't know how to answer. 

For a long time, Taichi remained silent, simply mulling over Piyomon's words. He didn't know how to even begin to respond to something like that. He finally let out a sigh before shaking his head, sending his messy brown hair in all directions when he did so. "I wish I could tell you," he confessed. That felt like the understatement of the century. Taichi had too many questions to even begin to put into words, so he opted to stay quiet instead. 

"I don't understand," Sora remarked next as the group began to move in the direction of Taichi's parked bike. She began to run her fingers through her short red hair as a way of calming the tangles that had formed during her impromptu ride on Birdramon's talon. "How did Kuwagamon come through the barrier in the first place? The gate has been stable for the past three years, and none of us would have wanted to let it through out of the blue like that."

"What I really want to know is who that orange cat Digimon was," Taichi remarked, pushing his hands up to cradle at the base of his neck. When Agumon looked up at him quizzically, Taichi explained. "Before you all showed up, I was fighting against Kuwagamon alone. Well, I say fighting, but it was more of running to make sure I didn't get impaled or something. This orange cat Digimon showed up seemingly out of nowhere and attacked Kuwagamon before anything bad could happen to me, but I don't know what in the world it was or where it came from."

"You saw it too?" Sora asked, and Taichi's silent suspicions regarding what had caught her attention during the fight were confirmed as he nodded. "The cat didn't seem to hate us the way that the Kuwagamon did. I think it's safe to say that the cat was on our side, but... Who was that? Why did we receive their help in the first place?"

Taichi shrugged as his arms flopped down to his sides once again. "I wish I could tell you," he told her. What had started as a relatively calm day had spiraled out of control faster than he had anticipated, and he wasn't fond of it in the slightest. He shook his head and began to adjust the items found in his bike's basket. He certainly wasn't going to be making it to soccer practice at this rate. He was late as could be, and it was only a matter of time before everyone found out about the giant monster attack that caused such a diversion. Taichi could send a text to the other members of his team to make sure that he wasn't watched with disproval when they next met due to his absence. Still, the issue of being late for soccer practice didn't seem to matter anywhere near as much as Kuwagamon's sudden assault, and Taichi could barely bring himself to care. 

"We're going to find a way to figure this out," Tailmon declared, just as mature and commanding as she always had been. Hikari nodded her agreement as she leaned down and scooped the cat into her arms. She began to stroke at her partner a moment later, and Tailmon nuzzled up against her grasp. 

"There has to be a reason for all of this," Taichi said conclusively. He was going to have to bring it up with the other members of the team as soon as he got the chance. Takeru and Koushiro, the experts when it came to communicating with the international teams of Chosen Children, would be able to offer updates regarding if this was happening elsewhere or only in Odaiba. 

Regardless of the outcome of the situation, Taichi had a nagging bad feeling about it all. He wasn't sure of how to describe it, but something about the circumstances of Kuwagamon's attack bothered him in a deep way that made his stomach churn with something sickening. This was far from being natural, and Taichi was fully aware of such a fact. There were too many facts that contributed to this truth for him to dismiss. 

"You know, a Kuwagamon wouldn't have been able to cross the barrier without someone opening a gate to the Digital World," Agumon suddenly chimed in, breaking through the temporary silence with his effortless sense of charm. "I wonder who would have wanted to do that... The gate hasn't gotten so weak for a Kuwagamon to just break through on its own as far as I can tell, so what could be happening?"

Taichi sighed, wishing that he had an easy way to answer Agumon's questions. Unfortunately, he couldn't find an answer no matter how much he sifted through his mind, and he detested the fact that he couldn't figure it out. In fact, it was bound to be a while before he discovered the truth behind what was taking place. They were going to need to do quite a bit of research before the matter could be safely settled. 

In all honesty, they had gotten lucky, and this wasn't something that Taichi was about to deny. Being attacked by a Kuwagamon was far from being ideal, but they were lucky that it hadn't been a stronger Digimon. Taichi wasn't sure about if anyone else from the team had responded to his urgent message about an attack taking place, but he was relieved beyond imagination that they had taken care of Kuwagamon before it could cause any further damage. 

Taichi glanced out over the nearby area and winced upon seeing a notable dent in the ground where Kuwagamon had landed after the black patch was removed from the back of its shell. There were two sideways streetlights as well, and they were bent well beyond repair. The glass surrounding the lightbulbs at the top had shattered completely as well, and Taichi was glad that there weren't any people without shoes in the area. That would have been an added complication that he simply wasn't in the mood to deal with on top of everything else that had taken place. 

Hikari had pulled out her phone while Taichi was distracted, and she played absentmindedly with the edge of her light brown hair as she read through the messages on the screen. "It looks like Yamato, Koushiro, and Ken all answered our message, but I told them that we took care of it," she declared. "They're all worried about what happened, and I can't exactly blame them. Today didn't exactly end in a way that we could get behind."

Taichi couldn't help but feel as if that was an understatement. The past three years had gone by in a peaceful haze, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. The Digital World was at peace with Earth, and he was able to see Agumon whenever he pleased. That was how he liked it, and Taichi was more than happy with such an outcome unfolding around him. The stability suddenly being shattered by the appearance of Kuwagamon didn't sit well with him in the slightest, and Taichi found his stomach starting to churn. 

It would have been easy to dismiss what had taken place as a one-off incident that would never take place again. There would be more than enough time for them to figure out what was happening to ensure that this situation didn't repeat itself. Still, Taichi couldn't help but feel that perhaps it wasn't as simple as he was making it out to be. There had to be a greater picture behind this puzzle, and he had an awful feeling that he was going to see it in all of its twisted glory soon enough. 

Still, there wasn't exactly much that he could do about it right then. Taichi let out a sigh and reached for his bike helmet, securing it around the wiring of the bicycle's frame. "Let's go home," he remarked simply. He wasn't going to be riding back to his apartment due to his wish to not abandon Sora, Hikari, or their Digimon, so this was the first step of beginning the excruciating task of walking it back there. All of his desperate pedaling for dear life was starting to have its consequences, and his lower legs throbbed from exertion. Taichi was a fit person naturally due to all of the time that he spent on the soccer team, but that didn't change the fact that his spree of running away from a red beetle out for blood had still come out nowhere. With the adrenaline gone from his system, there was nothing to keep him standing aside from sheer confusion and force of will. 

Taichi gave the area one final scan as he started to move back to his apartment building. He couldn't see any signs of the strange cat, the person with long black hair, or anyone who could have summoned the Kuwagamon. He was going to have to suggest the theory about the person with black hair being the cat's partner when he saw the group in full. This sudden occurrence was bound to merit a team meeting. Koushiro would call for it so that he could learn as much as possible, and Taichi was positive of that much. They would have more than enough time to theorize when the time came for them to discuss everything that had happened. 

For the time being though, Taichi turned his face to the sky and watched as a white puffy cloud obscured the springtime sun. He had an awful feeling about what was to come. There was something going on behind the scenes that he wasn't aware of, and something deep down told him that this wasn't the last time that this situation would play out. He didn't want to believe his instincts, but in his years of fighting and learning how to survive in two worlds, Taichi had learned to trust his gut when something went wrong. Sometimes, it felt like that was all he had. 

Taichi sighed and forced himself to continue putting one foot in front of the other. Regardless of if he was right or not, they were going to find a way to figure this out. That much he was sure of. No matter how long it took, they were going to find answers. They simply had to. 

~~~~~

It wasn't until after the group of three people and Digimon had left the area that the cat found it safe to slink away from her place in the shadows. She remained alert though, watching out for any other signs of trouble. The human at her side, a slender girl with obsidian hair reaching the middle of her back, sighed with relief upon realizing that they were alone. She was far paler than usual, and the cat could sense how nervous she was even with the battle over and done with. 

"Maybe we aren't as alone as we thought," the cat commented as she glanced up to the girl. She sat down on her back legs briefly, waiting for her companion to find the strength to push forward. The cat was nothing if not patient, and she knew better than to push the boundaries of the one that she cared for so dearly. 

"I guess not," the girl murmured in response. She didn't say anything beyond that, but as far as the cat was concerned, she didn't need to. They understood each other perfectly, and the cat could tell that her partner was paranoid, afraid of reaching out to others with the same power that she possessed. She was scared of opening herself up so soon, but at the same time, she was terrified that she had missed out on her only chance to get to know those who were like her. 

"No matter what you choose to do, I'll stay by your side, okay?" the cat said, her gaze softening. She knew how her partner worked, and simply having the option to do something counted for quite a bit in her relationship. The cat was the bolder of the two, but she still understood sensitivity. She had to. 

The girl nodded her reply. "Thank you," she whispered. Once she was sure that the coast was clear, she took a step into the light. "Come on. Let's go home. I'm sure that everyone is going to wonder what happened to us."

The cat hummed lightly. She had left their new home behind out of curiosity, but her partner had likely left because she wanted to search for the cat. She was positive that people were starting to worry about them and where they had gone, so all they could do was return before anyone's concerns got out of hand. 

They began the journey back home soon afterwards, and silence fell between them. The street around them was ruined, but it seemed secondary to the pounding of the girl's heart and the unspoken anxiety that thrived in the air around her. 

~~~~~

The girl and cat were far from being the only ones in the area though. The figure in black robes let out a scoffing sound once they were sure they were alone, and their voice echoed low in the air around them. Kuwagamon had been a failure, but they wouldn't be disappointed again. There would be other chances for attacks to end in success and triumph. They were bound to find a strategy sooner or later, and they couldn't wait to see what it brought them. 

They opened the palmtop computer once again, their frown still hanging heavily on their face. Even though there would be other chances, they were still frustrated with their failures. It should have been a simple yet effective operation, but instead, their plans for the day were in tatters, and everyone would be far more defensive from that point forward to ensure this situation didn't repeat itself. That changed things, but only slightly. They were going to ensure that the outcome of the final battle was favorable, and wasn't that the most important part of this whole scheme? 

Still, for the time being, all they could do was retreat. Another plan would be crafted once again when the time was right, and then the hooded figure would be able to execute the next scheme at the perfect moment. The Digital World was waiting for them, and more importantly, their commander was counting on them to arrive with results. Their leader wouldn't be happy to hear that the Kuwagamon attack had failed, but it would ultimately be inconsequential. One day, they would be able to succeed, after all. 

Their palmtop computer began to glow as light surrounded the screen. The hooded figure could feel themselves beginning to change shape to accommodate for their evolution of surroundings. The Digital World would be upon them sooner or later, and none would be at all the wiser of what they had done. The Chosen Children were unsure of what had taken place, and even if they had failed, they had at least managed to plant the seeds of doubt and uncertainty in their enemy's minds. 

The world shifted around them as Earth was left as little more than a distant memory. They would return soon enough, and if it wasn't them, it would be one of their brothers. That was how the operation was set to work, and it was only a matter of time before one of them saw triumph. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the Tri rewrite begins! 
> 
> This chapter is primarily a rather simple one. It serves the purpose of reintroducing us to the cast of Adventure, starting off with Taichi. I know that not everybody has made an appearance yet, but they'll be here soon enough, I promise. 
> 
> Speaking of the cast, you might notice that I mentioned Ken. Surprise! That's one of the fancy little facts about this rewrite. I'm including the Zero Two quartet as part of the main cast instead of excluding them! We only saw Hikari in this chapter, but all of the other Chosen Children from Zero Two will be making an appearance throughout the course of this story and playing a significant role to boot. 
> 
> For the most part, I like to think that this chapter sort of speaks for itself. There aren't all that many little hidden tidbits to keep watch for. The group just gets involved with a giant monster fight, so that's about all there is to say about that. Woohoo for monster fights! 
> 
> With all of that said, I believe that's all there is for me to tell you in this chapter. I'll be updating this story weekly on Fridays until it concludes, so you can expect the next chapter a week from today next Friday. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated, and I hope you're all having a nice day!
> 
> -Digital


	2. Fated Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Chosen Children begin the next school year, Taichi finds reason to suspect a classmate before being introduced to a new teacher.

In Taichi's opinion, everything could not have chosen a worse day to happen. Hours had passed since the battle with Kuwagamon, but he could still feel a burning sensation in his calves from all of the pedaling that he had been forced to do as a way of escaping the giant bug Digimon. He was exhausted, but it wasn't as if he could bring himself to sleep given how many things he had to think about. Each attempt to close his eyes only caused him to remember everything that had taken place throughout the day, and all he could do was sigh in frustration as sleep evaded him time and time again. 

"You sure do seem nervous."

As expected, Hikari was able to read Taichi without any issues. He was sprawled out on the bottom bed of the bunk that he had once shared with Hikari before she moved out into her own room a few years prior. He had come to use the top mattress for storing things that he was too lazy to give a proper home, and that left a blanket halfway draping off the side of the frame of the upper layer of the bed. It cast a shadow across Taichi's face as he pushed himself into an upright position, another sigh leaving his lips. He was tired of hearing himself exhale in disappointment, but it wasn't as if he could do much else given the circumstances. 

"I can't stop thinking about Kuwagamon," Taichi told her even though he was confident that Hikari was already fully aware of such a truth. "No matter how hard I try, he just keeps coming back to my mind. It's starting to get really annoying."

Hikari offered him a sympathetic smile as she sat down beside him, pushing the blanket back into its place on the top bunk to keep it from getting in her way. "You aren't the only one," she confessed. "I've been worried about everything today too. I didn't think that we would be running into a situation like this again."

Taichi slammed his hands onto his face before shaking his head. Agumon and Tailmon both came into the room, Agumon holding tightly to a small nutrition bar. He had said that he wanted one last snack before they went to sleep, and Tailmon had wound up accompanying him back to Taichi's room when she realized that Hikari was inside. Both of them sat down on the bed beside their respective partners as Taichi responded to Hikari's words. "It's been three years, but everything is happening all over again," he muttered. 

"I think I know what's really bothering you," Hikari told him. "We don't know as much this time as we did the previous times that the Digital World was in danger. Everything is different because we lack information. The first time, you understood that there was a higher power putting the Digital World in danger, and you realized soon enough that it was Devimon. The second time, we heard about the Kaiser almost right off the bat. This is different, and we don't have anywhere near enough information to figure out what is exactly happening."

"I feel like there's something here that we just aren't seeing," Taichi admitted. "I don't know how to pin it down specifically, but... Kuwagamon was targeting me specifically, Hikari. Before you and Sora showed up with the Digimon, it seemed pretty obvious that the Kuwagamon was trying to hurt me in particular. That... That hasn't happened before. Targeting us when we didn't have our Digimon on us, I mean."

"I suspect that there is something larger at play here the way that you said," Tailmon chimed in. "But we'll just have to wait a bit longer to figure out what it is. I'm sure that the other Digimon will be with their partners by now too. We'll be able to take care of anything that comes our way in the future, Kuwagamon or otherwise."

Taichi nodded with a light hum, wishing that he could believe the words with as much striking confidence as Tailmon did. He watched as Hikari began to run her fingers lazily down Tailmon's spine, and the cat Digimon purred as she curled up against the girl's side. Hikari smiled fondly at Tailmon. 

"You should get some sleep soon though," Agumon told Taichi, nudging his partner with his shoulder as he finished off the last bite of his snack. He began to crumble the wrapper a moment later. "I know that tomorrow is your first day of school."

Taichi winced at the reminder. That was the worst part about all of this in his opinion. Everything was hectic enough as it was, and then the first day of school simply had to be thrown in on top of the mess that he had already endured. School was undoubtedly going to eat his time alive until there was little of it left, and that was going to make finding the truth behind what happened with Kuwagamon far more difficult. 

"He's right," Hikari agreed. She rose to her feet after scooping Tailmon into her arms. "You shouldn't work yourself up more than you already have. We have a lot to do tomorrow, and I don't want you to be tomorrow on the first day. That would be an awful way to start off the new semester, wouldn't you say?"

As usual, Hikari was right, and Taichi had no choice but to admit such a fact as he nodded lightly in response to her words. He flopped dramatically onto his bed, and Agumon did the same from beside him. The wrapper from the nutrition bar fell from the dinosaur Digimon's hand and onto the ground beside the mattress. 

Hikari picked it up with a light smile before tossing it into the small trash bin found beside Taichi's desk. "I'll see you two in the morning. It's already getting late, so you should try and rest soon. Everything is going to be okay. We'll work this out no matter what happens," Hikari continued. Her fingers found the light switch on the wall beside the door, and she flicked it into the off position before shutting the door. "Goodnight."

As soon as the light from the hallway faded, Taichi glanced up to the ceiling, a frown manifesting on his features. He knew that Hikari had a point in saying that there was no point to working himself up when nothing would come of it. They would tell the other members of the team about what had happened as soon as the chance arrived. Yamato would be at school the following day, and Taichi would be able to tell him and Sora about what had happened, assuming that Sora hadn't already passed on the story already. She and Yamato had been together for the past three years, and they communicated quite a bit outside of the group's regular dynamic. 

Taichi pressed his hands against his eyes once again, only recoiling when the force was enough to make him see stars. He forced himself to focus on sleeping regardless of how unappealing the concept sounded. After all, Chosen Child or not, he still had to put up with school and all of its miserable intricacies. At least he would be able to talk to Yamato the following day. That was an advantage no matter how he looked at it, and Taichi couldn't wait for the chance to arrive. 

~~~~~

The morning passed in an empty haze that Taichi barely seemed to notice. The weather was dreary and rainy, and drops of thick water fell in giant splashes against the ground below. It was hardly the atmosphere that one would have wanted to see on the first day of school, but Taichi simply shrugged it off to the best of his ability, knowing that there were more important things for him to be thinking about than the weather. 

The bell had been a piercing shriek in his ears, and Taichi had been forced to move to class before he had the chance to speak with Sora or Yamato about the day before. The two of them were in the same class, but Taichi was on his own in a different classroom. He couldn't help but wish that the power of luck could have granted them the chance to see one another before the whirlwind of schoolwork and chaos set in for real. 

Taichi had taken a seat in his traditional back row place near the center of the classroom when he noticed that there was someone he didn't recognize from the previous school year found within the area. He glanced up and saw that a girl with long black hair and large glasses was standing at the front of the classroom, her dark eyes locked on the ground in front of her feet. She refused to make direct eye contact with anyone in the room, and her anxiety was palpable even from where Taichi was sitting. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. 

The teacher of the class was a man who lacked much of a stage presence, and this unfortunate turn of events left the girl as the center of attention. Taichi looked away as his silent method of keeping her from growing more embarrassed than she already was. He could practically feel the desperation from where he sat, and he was internally relieved that he hadn't been forced to go through this routine of standing in front of a class for introductions in quite some time. 

"I-I'm... Meiko. Meiko Mochizuki," the girl finally told everyone once the chance arrived. She was holding onto her bag tightly enough that she almost seemed to think that it would grow legs and run away if she relented for even a moment. She refused to keep her gaze focused the same as before, and her eyes glossed over nearly everyone in the room. 

Taichi chose to look up at her when he heard her speak, and for a brief moment, their eyes met. Meiko was overcome with shock for a brief moment, but she forced herself to look away before it could become too noticeable. Unfortunately for her, Taichi had already caught on, but he didn't know what could have caused her to behave so strangely all of a sudden. 

As Meiko began to make her way to her seat, one column and two rows in front of Taichi, he began to try to figure out where he could have seen her before. His mind was cast back to the day before, and he realized that she had been working to move into his apartment building when he was on his way to soccer practice. That certainly made sense. She had likely responded the way that she did upon seeing him because they had briefly crossed paths the day before. 

But there was something more to it in Taichi's mind. Something nagged at the back of his head, telling him that he was missing out on a crucial detail to the situation. Meiko's nerves had gone far deeper than simply being anxious over seeing Taichi again after the day before. She had almost seemed terrified to see him, and her reaction said as much loud and clear. There was something wrong, and Taichi was determined to get to the bottom of it. 

Once he started thinking about the day before, Taichi couldn't stop, and he did his best to push the memory of Kuwagamon sweeping through the sky towards him out of his mind. That was easier said than done, but he tried regardless. His gaze dropped to the ground as the teacher began to drone on about what to expect from the coming school year. 

The orange cat came to Taichi's memory once again, and he was left curious all over again about what could have happened with the strange Digimon after they disappeared from his line of sight. There was most certainly a reason for such odd behavior, but he didn't know what it could have been. The figure with long black hair came to mind as well. 

Wait. Long black hair? 

Taichi's gaze fell on Meiko once again, and he looked to the place where her hair fell down her back. It certainly seemed to fit the length of the person's hair from the day before. It was the same color as well. That would offer an explanation for why Meiko was so nervous about seeing him, and there was no way for her to deny such a thing. It was clear as could be that there was something wrong to Meiko, and Taichi was undoubtedly the cause of her concerns. 

Taichi did his best to pick through his memories regarding the person who had been at the scene of the battle so briefly. His theory from the day before had been that the person with dark hair was the partner of the cat Digimon that had saved him from Kuwagamon, and if Meiko was truly the person in question, then that meant that she was someone that he wanted to get close to as soon as possible. 

Taichi's fingers strayed to his belt, and he found his Digivice resting in its familiar place at his hip. Even during the school year, he did his best to keep it on his person at all times. It was a small source of comfort to him, a way of reminding him of where he had come from and where he was bound to go. If Meiko was one of them, one of the Chosen Children, then she undoubtedly had one as well. Taichi wasn't about to ask without any evidence, but he was curious regardless.

The whole group of Odaiba Chosen Children had concluded quite some time ago that they weren't going to be telling anyone about their identities if it could be avoided. Everyone was well-acquainted with the idea of Digimon due to the incidents in summer of 199 and winter of 2002, but the children still preferred to keep their identities a secret to prevent anyone from digging too close. There were Chosen Children all over the world, but the concept of preference still kept the twelve children of Odaiba with quite the secret that they shared alone. 

Taichi watched Meiko for another long moment before he forced himself to look away. He would bring up the concept of her being a Chosen Child with Yamato and Sora as soon as they got the chance to talk. Mimi went to their school as well, though she was a grade below Taichi. If all went well, they would have the opportunity to discuss what had taken place the day before. That was the hope that Taichi was choosing to hold tightly to for the time being. He was desperate to release the information that he had uncovered the day before, and Meiko simply added another captivating piece to the puzzle. He couldn't tell if he wanted her to be part of the Chosen Children or not, but he figured that finding his answer would be a problem for another time. At that moment, he had to concentrate on school, no matter how much he detested the idea. 

~~~~~

Yamato slid into the seat beside Sora and unceremoniously set down his lunch. Taichi sat on the other side of the table and had already started to dig into his food. It wasn't until after he noticed that Yamato had arrived that he looked up, and Taichi's gaze fell into something stony almost immediately. 

"We need to talk," Taichi declared confidently after quickly swallowing down the last of his food. "Sora, have you told him at all about what happened yesterday?" Everything about him read as concern, and Yamato couldn't help but frown in response. 

"I told him as much as I could," Sora explained. "Neither one of us has any ideas regarding how the Kuwagamon could have gotten through the barrier or who the orange cat could have been. I don't know about the person with dark hair either."

Taichi set down his utensils and closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the silence of the atmosphere briefly. It didn't feel right to him that he was simply going about his regular school schedule as if nothing was wrong. It had bothered him three years prior when the Kaiser was running rampant in the Digital World, and it was upsetting him at present as well. He wanted to be in the Digital World figuring out what had caused these issues in the first place, not sitting at the lunch table that he had grown so used to over the past few years. There was so much that needed to be figured out, and it didn't feel right to simply leave it for later. 

"I think that I've figured out who the person was," Taichi finally told them, a frown still heavy on his face. "I don't have any evidence quite yet, but... There's a new student in my class. Her name is Meiko. I'm pretty sure that she moved into my apartment building yesterday, and when she saw me, she got really nervous. As soon as we met eyes, she got anxious and started to look away."

"Does she match the description of the person that you saw yesterday?" Yamato questioned as he took a swig from his water bottle. He continued eating a moment later, and even though he wasn't looking directly at Taichi, the tense concern behind his features could still be felt. 

Taichi nodded. "She did a pretty good job of hiding it, but I could just tell that there was something wrong. I'm positive that she's the one that I saw... And I'm thinking that the orange cat was her partner Digimon. I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it isn't as if we have anything specific to go off at this point. All we can do is theorize and hope that it winds up paying off in the long run."

"We'll keep our eyes peeled," Sora said as she began to eat her lunch as well. "That's our best option right now. I'm positive that we'll be more than able to discuss what's taken place with the rest of the group. We might not be able to see them now, but the chance will arrive soon enough, I'm sure."

Taichi nodded dimly, a hum leaving his lips. He took another bite of his food, but he wasn't able to banish Meiko from his thoughts no matter how hard he tried. There was simply something about her that made him think that she was somehow involved with everything that had taken place the day before. The clinching piece of evidence would have been if she showed off her Digivice, assuming that she even had one in the first place, but Taichi knew better than to go around prying into the affairs of others. He wasn't about to cross such a line, especially given that he didn't want to tell the world that he was a Chosen Child either. 

"Kuwagamon had better be the only one that this happens to," Yamato told his companions as he took another bite. It was clear by the way that he was staring at the table that he didn't believe this issue would be resolved quite so easily, but Taichi would have been lying if he said that he didn't feel the same way. This was already starting to get overwhelming to him, and there was no way of saying how much worse it had the potential of getting. 

"I somehow doubt that," Sora finally managed to say, vocalizing the fears that none of them had wanted to express openly. "We can hope as much as we want though... That's what I'm going to be doing for the time being. We'll do what we can to communicate more with the other members of the group, and then all of the pieces will come together. There has to be someone out there who sent Kuwagamon across the barrier in the first place, and as soon as we find out who they are, we'll be one step closer to finding the truth."

"It's not like it would have been any of us," Taichi immediately interjected. He knew fully well that the other members of their team would never do something like release a wild Digimon on the city. They had spent so much time throughout their younger years attempting to fight for the sake of the peace of the Digital World, and it wouldn't make sense for them to suddenly act against it after their record had stood tall and proud for so many years. 

"I agree with you there," Yamato told him with a small nod. "There must be some outside figure that's doing all of this, but we don't know who it could be quite yet. We'll find it out soon enough. Koushiro should be able to put together a few extra pieces to the puzzle. You know how good he is at coming to conclusions when it comes to things like this."

Taichi nodded his agreement. If anyone could find the answers behind this mystery, it would have been Koushiro. His analytical intelligence was known throughout the Chosen Children, and even international Digimon and their partners were aware of how intelligent he was. When a question arose about the Digital World, most people turned to him first. Koushiro was incredible in ever sense of the word, and Taichi was beyond glad to have him as a teammate. 

"What about the dark patch of data?" Sora questioned after silence had come to cover the trio for a brief period of time. "I know that I saw something on the back of Kuwagamon's shell. Tailmon hit it, and as soon as she did, Kuwagamon snapped out of its trance. That has to count for something, right?"

"You're right," Taichi agreed. "In a way, I guess you could say that it's like the black gears or Dark Rings that we dealt with in past adventures... But something about this felt different. For one, there were no Dark Towers to go with the data patch, and the black gears had a limited range. I somehow doubt that something like that could have bridged the barrier between the worlds. It would have lost power if it got too far away from its source if it followed the latter concept."

"We're dealing with something new, it seems," Yamato commented with a small shrug. He glanced over Taichi's shoulder, his blue eyes distant and glassy. "We're going to find a way to figure it out together the way that we always have though. If this happens again, then we can gather more information. We might even be able to go to the Digital World soon to look around for any traces of what could be happening."

"All of this really did happen at the worst possible time, huh?" Sora asked with a small laugh. "If not for school, we would probably be in the Digital World right now looking around to see if there was anything else we could figure out. It's unfortunate that we don't have quite as much time now, but we'll find out what's happening regardless of the schedule restrictions. It's part of our duty to both worlds and to ourselves, and we aren't going to falter now."

"Since it's still the first week, there shouldn't be as much for us to do compared to later times of the year," Yamato pointed out. "Hopefully we'll have enough time to go into the Digital World and at least conduct an informal investigation. That might get us all the information that we need in order to figure out what's happening."

"I'm hoping for that at least," Taichi chuckled. He focused on eating once again after a quick glance to the clock told him that they had spent more time talking than he realized. The other two seemed to understand what that meant, and they followed his lead a moment later. 

For a while, none of them spoke, instead simply enjoying the company of one another. It was true that the Chosen Children of the first generation tended to have their own social circles, but that didn't mean that they were completely averse to the idea of hanging out together. The six of them were different people, and consistently spending time with others in the same category as them was a task that was often passed to the second team. Taichi had to admit that he found it nice to take a break from his soccer teammates to be around Sora and Yamato once again. In a way, it was just like old times, and he rather enjoyed it. 

Taichi had sent a text to his soccer teammates the night before to explain why he hadn't wound up showing up to the practice the day prior. As it turned out, he was far from being the only one who was caught in the crossfire of Kuwagamon's actions, and only about three-quarters of his teammates were able to make it before the bug's rampages grew to be too much. Taichi found that beyond relieving, and it gave him the perfect chance to keep his secret regarding being a Chosen Child. None of them were comfortable sharing their identities publicly quite yet even after all that they had done, and Taichi was relieved to hear each time that something happened that it could stay quiet for a little while longer. 

Taichi found himself perking up when he saw something shift out of the corner of his gaze. His eyes instinctively moved over to stare at a wall that quickly changed into a rounded corner. There was a person standing in the area, and he recognized the black hair and large glasses even from quite the distance away. 

Meiko was clearly staring at him, far from being the best when it came to hiding things. The two of them met eyes once again for a long moment, and Taichi frowned as he attempted to read her. Meiko almost appeared petrified at the eye contact, as if she had been pinned in place by his threatening aura. Taichi watched as she retreated, and Meiko jumped when something came up beside her. Unfortunately, the culprit was hidden behind the corner, and Taichi couldn't see anything aside from Meiko's startled reaction. 

For a few moments, Taichi watched as Meiko conversed with the one responsible for her sudden moment of fear. It didn't take long for Meiko to be dragged away though, and Taichi watched as she vanished from view completely soon afterwards. He sighed and shook his head before returning to his food. Sora and Yamato both stared at him quizzically before looking in the direction that Taichi had been staring in a few moments prior. They didn't see anything due to Meiko's sudden disappearance.

"What was that?" Sora questioned softly to keep from drawing attention to herself. Her eyes were laced with concern and anxiety. Once again, her caring instincts had come to the front, and Taichi could already tell what was going to come next if he didn't answer her inquiry. Sora was passionate when it came to her duties of looking after her peers, and Taichi was far from being an exception. 

"Meiko," Taichi replied. "She was staring at us. I think that's only further proof that she's suspicious. There's something going on here, and we're going to figure out what it is sooner or later. I don't know for sure if she's one of us, but I get the feeling that the answer will be coming out at some point or another."

"I wonder who or what could have dragged her off then," Yamato commented. "She certainly wasn't there when Sora and I looked a moment ago." He delivered another bite into his mouth before taking a long drink from his water bottle. 

Taichi shrugged, the motion rough and jerky. "We'll figure it out soon enough if it's important," he told Yamato. His lunch was gone, leaving behind only the container that his food had been packed in that morning. He began to pull it together once again, placing lids on compartments before shoving them into his bag haphazardly. He could feel Sora's wince from across the table given how much messier his habits were compared to hers. 

Another glance up at the clock told Taichi that it was almost time for them to go their separate ways. He rose to his feet and stretched his hands above his head, a light groan leaving his lips. His hand settled at his hip as he felt for his Digivice on instinct, and familiar relief flooded his body when he realized that it was still there. 

"We should get going, I guess," Yamato commented upon seeing Taichi's actions. "We talked about all that we could, but we can get into more details when the other members of the team are here. It'll be nice to have everyone's input on what took place. We can go to the Digital World as soon as the chance arrives as well."

"I'll see you two later then," Sora smiled as she finished putting her things away. When she rose to her feet, she brushed a few strands of her vibrant red hair away from her face. A brief wave signaled her cue to leave, and she was gone a few moments later, nothing more than a hazy outline among the crowd of students. 

Yamato left shortly afterwards, and he gave Taichi a curt nod before vanishing into the blur of bodies as well. The brown-haired boy let out a sigh as he finished zipping his bag, and he began to navigate through the school as well. He already knew what his next destination was set to be. He figured that he might as well get to his next class early since there was nowhere else for him to be in that instant. 

Taichi hadn't been planning on indulging in a calligraphy class at first, but when the stars aligned, this was the fate he found himself with. Taichi set down his bag at the seat that he was prematurely claiming as his own as he watched the teacher from afar. He had learned the name of his teacher quite a while ago, and after digging back into his memories, Taichi recognized him as Daigo Nishijima. 

Daigo was a tall and slender man with dark hair that never seemed to settle quite right, though it was next to nothing when compared to Taichi's infinitely messier tangles. Daigo was facing away as he wrote something on a table. His legs were folded beneath him, and he dipped his elaborate pen into an inkwell before beginning to pattern out large characters knotted with swirls. Everything about him bled elegance in a way that Taichi hadn't seen coming. 

It was only after Taichi unzipped his bag that Daigo recognized that he was there. The teacher rose to his feet after he was finished and stretched his arms above his head. When he turned to face Taichi, his dark eyes came into view. Taichi couldn't help but wince at the sight of how exhausted he looked. 

It was a strange paradox, Taichi had to admit. As far as he could tell, Daigo wasn't anywhere near as old as some of the other teachers at the school. In fact, Daigo didn't even appear to have hit the middle of his life yet. Despite this, everything about him screamed that he was tired, a deep exhaustion that sunk into his bones and then further beyond. Dark circles tugged at the skin beneath his eyes, and his irises told the story of an old soul forced to endure tribulations far beyond what any person deserved on their own. His posture as somewhat slouched, and Taichi couldn't help but wonder if Daigo had anything resembling a normal sleep schedule. 

"I remember you," Daigo commented once he had examined Taichi. "You're on the soccer team. I saw you practicing a few days ago. You're very good at what you do..." He trailed off and began to gesture gently for Taichi to offer his name since he was lacking in the necessary information. 

"Taichi," the brown-haired boy finished for him. Daigo nodded in response, and he smiled tiredly before starting to move elsewhere in the room. Daigo reached his desk and snagged a paper bag with folded edges to seal off whatever was inside. Taichi silently wondered if he had missed out on seeing Daigo during practice a few days prior, and he ultimately blamed that on his own silent distraction. 

Daigo began to open the bag as he slid into a desk near Taichi. There was something about him that felt perfectly kind in a way that Taichi didn't know how to describe. Not many of his teachers bothered to get this blatantly familiar with their students, and it bothered him in a strange way. At the same time though, it wasn't entirely unwelcome. In fact, it was nice to be able to have the option to speak with Daigo even if neither one of them seemed to know how to start a conversation with the other. 

Daigo pulled a donut free of the bag, and he took a bite of it. The sugar cresting the top of the treat began to surround his upper lip, but Daigo didn't seem to mind. He looked a bit like a kid in a candy store despite the exhaustion to his gaze. After he took a second bite, Daigo curled his other hand around the outside of the bag and extended it in Taichi's direction. "Want one?" Daigo questioned around the donut in his mouth. 

Taichi had more than eaten his share at lunch, but not even he could pass up on such a promising offer. He shoved his hand inside and pulled a donut out a moment later. There were two or three others inside as far as he could tell, but he didn't want to push it and take more than he had been offered. Taichi took a bite soon afterwards, and he was immediately overwhelmed with the perfection of the sweet flavor. Daigo had exquisite taste, it seemed. 

"You know, I used to be involved with soccer back in the day," Daigo commented after he had swallowed down his bite. "I can tell that you have a strong future ahead of you in that sport. It was impressive to see that you accomplished so much in a single practice."

"Thanks," Taichi said in response, wishing that he had something more to add to the conversation. Daigo suddenly approaching him, while not entirely unwanted, was still odd to him, and he wondered if he would ever be able to get used to something like that. He continued to dig into the donut that he had been given, and each bite seemed even more delectable than the last. 

"You weren't at practice yesterday though. Did something happen?" Daigo questioned. He began to fold the donut bag shut once again, and the crinkling of the paper reverberated throughout the room. 

Despite the noise, the donut bag was only slightly less noisy and obnoxious than Taichi's own thoughts. He was going to have to tell Daigo that he hadn't shown up to soccer practice for a good reason without drawing attention to himself. Taichi was used to keeping this secret, but something about Daigo's casual nature made him feel odd about lying. He wished that he had the acting skills that Takeru and Hikari had mastered years prior. 

"I was caught up in other business," Taichi finally forced himself to say. He didn't get into any other details, deciding that it simply wasn't worth the risk. Besides, he had the sneaking suspicion that Daigo was going to continue the conversation regardless. 

Sure enough, Daigo nodded his understanding before going on. "I see... Would it have anything to do with the monster attack that took place yesterday?" he questioned. He finished the final bite of his donut before dusting off his hands, sending small bits of powdered sugar cascading from his palms to the ground below. 

Taichi hoped that Daigo didn't pick up on the way that his shoulders immediately grew knotted with tension. "Yeah," he finally said, seeing no reason to lie. Some of his teammates had told him that they were caught up in the chaos and couldn't attend practice either, so it wasn't completely absurd for him to say that he had been at the center of the crossfire. 

Daigo nodded his understanding. "I heard about it on the news. It was a big deal apparently. Nobody was able to capture much video footage aside from a few flashes, but it must have caused a lot of trouble while it was around. People were terrified... You'd expect them to get used to it given how this has happened before, but I guess that some things are just out of our control," he remarked, a playful smile appearing on his lips. 

Taichi responded with a short hum. Daigo was most certainly right about this having taken place before. First, there had been a hole torn in the sky back in August of 1999. Then, Omegamon and Diablomon had battled at the heart of the internet for all the world to see. After that, there was the incident where Digimon ran rampant as the gateway through Hikarigaoka was forced open once again. Finally, Diablomon had manifested once again over the bay. In the past six years, that was four monster attacks, and those were just the incidents that had taken place in the Tokyo area. There were likely other cases all over the world that Taichi was less aware of. 

Daigo shrugged as he turned his attention towards the ceiling. "I guess that's just how it goes though. We'll have to see what happens this time around. In the past, there were people who took care of everything before it could grow to be a large enough issue for mass concern to be an issue," he continued. "We'll just hold on and have faith in them for now."

Taichi almost cringed at the irony of Daigo talking to him of all people about something like that. He was relieved that his teacher didn't know the truth of his identity, of course, but it was still odd to think that Daigo was talking in vague terms when Taichi was sitting right there. Rather than commenting on that though, Taichi nodded in Daigo's direction and forced another bite of the donut between his teeth. All of a sudden, the sugary treat was less of a bonus on top of the lunch he had already enjoyed and more of an escape rope he desperately needed to get away from Daigo's wandering sense of conversational drift. 

Daigo was out of his seat soon afterwards, and he made his way over to his desk. One hand found its way around a water bottle, and Daigo took a long drink from it before setting the bottle down once again. Somehow, Daigo only looked more exhausted from the side, and Taichi almost couldn't believe that his teacher, someone who was on the younger side, could be so consistently tired. Somehow, it seemed to be a bit more than simply struggling to sleep. That was what Taichi thought at the very least. Still, if there was more to it, then just what was going on?

Still, Taichi supposed that he had no room to pester Daigo on the matter. After all, he was more than familiar with secrets and had quite a few of his own. He understood what it meant to hide things from the rest of the world, whether it be out of necessity or simply wishing to keep some matters private. He bit down on the donut once again before popping the final piece into his mouth. Taichi's eyes never quite left Daigo fully, and he wondered just what was going on in the mind behind those tired eyes. 

"Good luck with the coming soccer season," Daigo finally told Taichi when he turned back to face his student. He walked over to the spot that he had been sitting at on the floor and picked up the piece of paper found there. The ink had started to dry, leaving a few stunning characters at the center of the pristine white. 

_Dream big._

"I like to start off each school year by making one of these," Daigo explained with a fond smile. "I suppose that it helps to keep me motivated. You can do anything you put your mind to, and sometimes, you just need a bit of a reminder of the power that you have. I think that you can do great things one day too, Taichi. It's just a matter of time before you unravel the power at your fingertips."

Daigo moved over to a display board next, and he removed a tack shoved haphazardly into the cobbled surface. When Daigo set the tack back in place, it was pinning up the dream big poster that he had just created, and Taichi realized just how elaborate Daigo's writing was. It almost didn't seem real that he was capable of such things. Then again, Taichi's true power never showed on the surface either, so he had no room to talk. 

Other students began to stream in after that, and Taichi took that as a sign that his conversation with Daigo was over. No matter how many times he played the words over in his mind, Taichi was never quite able to move on. Something about Daigo was strange to him, and he couldn't help but wonder just what was going on behind the scenes of the one who claimed that dreams were big and human potential was infinite. 

~~~~~

The rest of the school day went by rather painlessly, Taichi had to admit. Since it was only the first day of classes, not as much was happening when compared to other dates scheduled later into the school year. Taichi certainly wasn't complaining about the lighter workload, and he took it as a blessing rather than a curse luring him into a false sense of security. He would put up with the problems of the future when they arrived. After all, he was in the present, and what was happening around him had to be his first priority. 

Taichi was on his way out of the school building when he heard a familiar laugh come from a group of students nearby. He knew that it was Mimi before he even glanced in her direction, and sure enough, there she was. Mimi's light brown hair fell around her shoulders in the same gentle waves that Taichi had come to expect from her, and her bright eyes gleamed with optimism and hope. Even among the crowd of students in uniform, she stuck out like a beacon. Taichi could certainly see how she had come to be so popular. Her presence was so naturally magnetic that even the strangest of people would find themselves sucked in before they had a chance to react. 

Taichi's words regarding Mimi were proven a moment later when he realized who was standing directly to her left. The rest of the students in the group were underclassmen that Taichi vaguely recognized since he saw them around campus from time to time. However, the girl standing beside Mimi was one that he knew all too well, and Meiko's black hair and shaded eyes were impossible to mistake. His eyes narrowed on instinct as he scrutinized everything about her once again. 

Mimi noticed Taichi when he was halfway through examining what he could about the enigma that was Meiko Mochizuki, and she waved one hand over her head to gesture for her to come over. Taichi could already feel the gazes of Mimi's classmates on him, and he resisted the urge to cringe openly. As the star of the soccer team, he got quite a bit of attention from his peers, and Mimi's friends in particular were no strangers to flattering him and the others that he played alongside. 

"Taichi, I'd like you to meet Meiko," Mimi said through the chatter, her voice a cut above the rest just as it always had been. "She moved to Odaiba from Tottori recently, and she says that she's going to be in your class. Plus, she moved into your apartment building! How incredible is that?" She gently nudged at Meiko's shoulder, and the dark-haired girl looked to the ground, working her lip between her teeth anxiously. "I've been showing Meiko around the school since she hasn't come here before. I figured that she could use a friend in her own class though, and since you live in the same apartment building, I felt like you would be the perfect candidate."

"I-I saw you when I was moving in yesterday," Meiko commented to Taichi. She didn't even bother trying to falsify a smile, and he was beyond relieved with such. He didn't think that he would have been able to hide his suspicion. It was difficult enough when she was already so much more anxious than she had any right to be. 

"Yeah, I remember," Taichi told her with a small hum. He wanted to escape this conversation as soon as possible. Mimi had good intentions, but that didn't stop him from thinking about all the different ways that Meiko could have possibly tied into the Kuwagamon mess from the day before. 

Mimi hadn't always lived in Odaiba, and she had only started attending the same school as Taichi, Yamato, and Sora recently. For a few years, roughly five or so, she had lived in America, specifically at the heart of New York City. Her father's job had transferred them out, and it was through her that the group discovered the existence of international Chosen Children. However, yet another wind of fate had brought her back to Odaiba. Her father's job had brought them back home, and Mimi had been living there for about six months. It hadn't been easy for her to assimilate in the previous fall, but she still managed to get used to it. Mimi was a natural when it came to fitting into any social situation, so it was only a matter of time before she had a large group of people to call friends. It was almost as if she had never left in the first place. 

"I hope that you two are able to get to know each other more in the future," Mimi continued to prattle on. If she was aware of the strange tension between Taichi and Meiko, she was deliberately choosing to ignore it, likely because so many people were watching. "It'll be nice for you to have at least someone in your class to count on, Meiko. There's only so much that I can do for you a grade below, even if I have been tasked with showing you around for a while."

That was just like Mimi, Taichi noted. She hadn't been back in Odaiba for long, but she still managed to make it seem perfectly like home to her. Once again, it was as if she hadn't ever lived in New York at all. It was so perfectly Mimi that it almost hurt to think about. Of course she would want to reach out and help a new student get to know her surroundings. Mimi was kind and generous, and Taichi wouldn't have been surprised if she saw a bit of herself in Meiko. Granted, the similarities were few and far between, but he wouldn't have put it past Mimi to find some sort of common ground for them to build their friendship off of. It was simply how she was, Mimi in every sense of the word. 

"I think that we should keep looking around the school," Mimi continued after a beat of silence. "I don't want you getting lost when you have to look around without me, you know? Besides, there are all sorts of things that I want to show you. I can arrange a chance for you and Taichi to get to know each other better if that's what you would like."

Meiko's response was immediate, and her face flushed. Taichi could tell that it was less embarrassment about the two of them getting closer and more terror at the idea that he could figure out the truth behind the secret that she was trying so desperately to conceal. "No!" Meiko cried out. It took a moment for her to correct herself, but her face remained bright pink when she went on. "I... Um... I think I'll be okay, but thank you for the offer, Mimi. I appreciate it."

"I understand," Mimi assured her, an easy smile slipping onto her face. "It was nice seeing you, Taichi! We should get together again sometime soon." For a brief moment, Taichi could have sworn that he saw something unfamiliar flash in her eyes. She was talking about what had happened with Kuwagamon as far as meeting up was concerned. Of course she was. They still had quite a bit of important business to work out before they could consider the matter sealed away once and for all. 

Taichi nodded and watched as Mimi waved in his direction. He returned the gesture and watched as Mimi began to escort Meiko away. Taichi frowned when he realized just how little eye contact Meiko had made with him. That certainly sealed it in his mind; Meiko was hiding something from him, and it was no secret to either one of them. 

Meiko and Mimi vanished into the crowd of students, and Taichi let out a sigh before turning on his heel. He had an after-school soccer practice, and that was unfortunately going to keep him from getting home in a timely manner. He would simply have to speak with the others about the Kuwagamon incident later in the evening. For the time being, he was going to embrace his life as a regular student for once. Kuwagamon had taken it from him the day before, but Taichi wasn't going to allow that to happen once again. 

~~~~~

Hikari had been home for a while by the time that Taichi arrived back home, and she was playing on her phone while the living room television droned on in the background. She had switched out her green school uniform for something a bit more casual, and her hair had fallen loose of its barrettes when she swapped her attire. She didn't glance up in Taichi's direction when he walked in, but she did give him some of her attention after he sat down dramatically next to her on the couch, his hair even messier than usual. 

Sweat glistened on Taichi's forehead, and Hikari giggled to herself, already knowing the answer to her inquiry before the words were even formed. "Tough practice today?" she asked. She powered off her phone with care before sliding it into her pocket. 

Taichi groaned, and Hikari snickered once more. "You never notice how hot spring is until you get a brutally warm day," he replied, swiping one hand over his face. He paused for a moment, a frown still on his lips. "I think I figured out who the person with black hair was from yesterday."

Now that was something that caught Hikari's attention, and her joking gaze morphed into something far more solemn on the spot. "Who is it?" she questioned, her voice dropping to a volume just above a whisper. They were the only ones home, but that didn't stop the instinctive caution that came with their secret from kicking in. Taichi couldn't judge her for it in the slightest, especially since he was just as worried about it as she was most of the time. 

"A new family moved into our apartment building," Taichi began. "That's what I heard from Mimi, at the very least. One of the people in the family is a girl named Meiko Mochizuki. She's in my class at school this year, and she fits the description perfectly. It has to be her."

Hikari hesitated, and her gaze faltered for a brief moment. "I don't think that just looking like the suspect is enough for us to say that she's the one who was responsible for it. At the very least, we can't say that conclusively... Do you have any other evidence to show that she could have been involved?" she asked. 

Taichi nodded, and Hikari perked up with curiosity. "Yeah. When she saw me, she immediately got nervous, like she didn't even want to be around me. I could tell that something was up, and I was right. She's trying to hide the fact that she saw me yesterday when we were fighting against Kuwagamon. She was watching me from afar during lunch, and she only stopped when somebody dragged her off," he explained. He realized belatedly that the culprit for Meiko's sudden disappearance was likely Mimi given how attached the girl had already become to the newcomer. 

"I see..." Hikari murmured. She shook her head a moment later. "We'll just have to keep an eye out from now on. Maybe we'll be able to find out a bit more when we next meet up with everybody. Koushiro messaged everybody earlier and asked if we would be available to have a meeting of the team this weekend. We may or may not be able to go to the Digital World after the fact. You were still in practice, but I checked the calendar, and we don't have anything going on. You should probably respond to him and say that you're going to be able to come. You know how thorough he is when planning these things, and he's definitely waiting to hear from you."

Taichi nodded his understanding, and he stuffed his hand into his back to reach for his phone. Sure enough, he saw a few missed messages from Koushiro, and he immediately got to work on responding. He could feel Hikari watching him, and Taichi could tell that she had picked up on something else. He wasn't sure if anything aside from the Meiko incident was bothering him, but Hikari had always been perceptive. Regardless of if he said something or not, Hikari was going to find a way to figure it out. Her sense of empathy was powerful, almost to the point that it was her greatest weakness. 

"Did anything else happen today?" Hikari finally asked when she got tired of the silence. Taichi finished sending his message to Koushiro and set his phone down beside him, leaning back against the couch as she continued. "It seems like there's something else on your mind."

Taichi didn't reply for a while before he finally remembered the other notable event from the day. "My calligraphy teacher started talking about what happened with Kuwagamon," he told her. "He said that he had heard about all of the trouble that Kuwagamon caused, and he worried when I didn't show up for soccer practice. He isn't involved with the team or anything, but he apparently watched us practice a few days ago because he used to do that sort of thing when he was our age."

"And that bothered you?" Hikari questioned. She could certainly see why it was a concerning matter given what had taken place. As far as Taichi was aware, Kuwagamon had been on the news, and Daigo had said as much too. He didn't know how he felt about Daigo getting into so much detail about it, but he didn't like that everyone was already buzzing about what Kuwagamon had done. The damage that he had caused was still visible since nothing could be repaired overnight, and Taichi was glad that Hikari wasn't watching the news so that he didn't have to see the destruction that Kuwagamon had left behind. 

"I guess so," Taichi finally said after a pause that seemed to last a lifetime. "I don't know why. Something about him just felt... I guess I felt like something was wrong. I don't know what could have caused it, but... It was strange."

Deep down, Taichi knew exactly what the reasoning for his sudden on-edge behavior was. It was because of how exhausted Daigo had looked. That was more than simply a lack of sleep. Something far deeper was taking place, and Taichi's instincts nagged at him that the culprit was somehow involved with the Kuwagamon attack. He didn't have any evidence, but Taichi was sure that he was going to figure it out sooner or later. If it was important, the truth would come out at some point, and he would be ready to hear it in full. 

Taichi didn't say anything for a moment before he grabbed his phone once again. "I'm going to tell everyone what I think happened with Meiko today. I think that they should at least be aware of it. I can go into more detail when we meet up this weekend, but it's a start for now," he told Hikari. She nodded her understanding and looked back to the television screen. An animated show played out in stunning fluidity, and Taichi had to force himself to concentrate on typing out each letter of the message he was trying to send so that he didn't get distracted. 

The first response after the message had been sent came from Ken. _'We should keep it in mind, but we can't confront her without proof.'_ As usual, Ken was right. It was par for the course by that point. Taichi was sure that they would find out the truth about Meiko soon enough. Still, he was already starting to get incredibly sick of waiting, and it had only been a day or so since the Kuwagamon incident took place. How completely frustrating. 

Taichi shut his eyes as he allowed his head to slip backwards against the couch. He stared up at the ceiling above, knowing that it didn't have any new knowledge for him but curious regardless. He only looked away when he heard a shuffling noise, and he watched as Agumon came waddling out of his room. 

"I thought I heard your voice!" Agumon cried out. He jumped onto the couch, and Taichi's head tilted to the side as he planned out the words to ask Agumon where Tailmon was. Luckily for him, Agumon responded before he had the chance. "Tailmon's taking a nap."

Taichi nodded his understanding as he scrubbed the back of his hand across his face again. He smelled terrible after practice, and the spring sun had been relentless. He was going to have to shower as soon as he got the chance. He supposed that there was no time quite like the present, so he rose to his feet slowly, stretching his arms above his head. He shuffled over to the bathroom after getting another set of clothes ready so that he would have something to change into. 

The whole way through, Taichi wondered about Meiko. He didn't know for sure what was going on with her, but he was determined to find out. His suspicions meant little without evidence, and he was fully aware of such a truth. If all went well, he would know what was going on with her sooner rather than later. Still, he knew that there was little he could do about it until he could discuss the matter with the others of his team. All he had to do was hold onto his curiosity for just a few days longer until they could meet. 

Suddenly, a week felt like the longest stretch of time that had ever been known to man, and all Taichi could do was sigh and wait as the seconds ticked by. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is meant to sort of reintroduce us to the cast of Adventure since quite a bit has happened since Zero Two. Granted, they haven't been Digimon fights or anything, but three years have passed, and that's a significant chunk of time. A few things have changed, and I'll be going over the main one roughly now. 
> 
> The most notable change that happened in the past three years has Mimi moving back to Odaiba. That happened, as stated in the chapter, about six months before the story started. I figured that it would be easier to incorporate her into the story if she was in Odaiba as opposed to New York, and I stand by that concept. She isn't a minor character like she was in Zero Two, so I had to find a way to drag her back. 
> 
> Speaking of Mimi coming back to Odaiba, the reference to Mimi's father getting a job transfer can be found in media outside of the anime. It states in the Adventure novels that Mimi's father is an audio mixer for a music company, and the job transfer was mentioned in the Two and a Half Year Break audio drama for Adventure that covers the distance between Adventure and Zero Two. I was veeeery thorough when it came to researching Adventure for this fic, and I wanted to make sure that everything was as accurate as possible. 
> 
> The other notable thing in this chapter that I wish to go over is Daigo. He's pretty similar to his canon incarnation, but I decided to add in another little sprinkling of something special along the way. I always noticed that Daigo seemed to have a somewhat tired aura about him, and while that can very easily be passed off as a quirk with the animation, I think it's a fitting character quirk for him. He's not too particularly old or anything, but he's still got this sense of exhaustion that sets him apart from most others his age. Speaking of Daigo (and Maki when she shows up), he's thirty-one in this rewrite. I don't think that his age was ever defined in canon, so I decided to give him one. Even if it was explicitly stated, I'm changing it to better fit the plot. 
> 
> On that note, I want to say that there aren't any things being changed prior to Tri. I took great cares planning this story so that everything remained consistent. Even though there are many changes that take place throughout the events of Tri, everything before that is identical to canon. My planning document for this story is over a hundred pages and in excruciating detail to make sure that I didn't miss out on anything. I just wanted to go on and clarify that since my random changes of Tri material might confuse people on how I treat prior seasons. There's my tidbit of the day regarding that. 
> 
> In all honesty, that's about all there is to say about this chapter, so I'm going to leave things off here. Next time around, we'll be pushing on by reintroducing a few other members of the cast after the three year gap, including the first few members of the Zero Two quartet. For the time being though, I hope you enjoyed. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
> 
> -Digital


	3. Illusions of Security

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While wondering about recent events, Miyako finds herself face-to-face with another Digimon on Earth.

To Miyako, the recent events felt like an _itch._

As she walked into school for the second day of the new year, Miyako wondered about everything that had taken place. She hadn't been too proactive about participating in texted conversations regarding the events of the past few days, but she was thinking about them more than she could ever hope to say. It felt as if the incident with Kuwagamon never left her mind. Even as she struggled to sleep at night and pulled herself from bed in the morning, she thought about it. 

Miyako smoothed out the skirt of her uniform as she walked towards where Koushiro was standing on the campus of their shared school. While most of their comrades within the Chosen Children went to the same high school as Taichi, Koushiro and Miyako had wound up setting their sights elsewhere. They were the only two members of the team to go there as second and first year students respectively. Miyako was still adjusting to the new school year, but she was going to do her best to become acquainted with the world around her regardless. 

It most certainly would have been easier for her to get ready for the rest of the year if she wasn't constantly thinking about the Kuwagamon incident. That left Miyako struggling to relax, and it only made it harder to navigate the school that she was unfamiliar with as it was. She sighed as she brushed some of her hair away from her face and adjusted her glasses, needing to give her hands something, anything to do to fill the silence. 

Koushiro was leaning against the side of the building with his school bag hanging off one shoulder. He was looking at his phone, and Miyako was already sure of what he was investigating before she even came into his line of sight. "Hey, Koushiro," she greeted simply with a nervous smile. 

Koushiro looked up with a start, and a nervous flush rose in his cheeks after he calmed himself down from his moment of startled panic. "Good morning, Miyako," he greeted softly in his regular gentle demeanor. He glanced down to his phone once again, and Miyako followed his line of sight. Sure enough, he was looking at the conversation that held all of the Chosen Children that they had been using to discuss the Kuwagamon incident. 

Miyako sighed as she leaned up against the wall beside him. "I can't stop thinking about it," she confessed. "It seems like I can't escape it no matter what I try. I don't know what I expected, but... It still bothers me."

Koushiro nodded his understanding. "We need to arrange a time to meet with everyone to discuss what happened," he told her. "We've already decided to unite on Sunday at my apartment, but we still need to decide on a specific time of the day."

"I hope it's a one-off thing," Miyako confessed. She felt that itch again, and she resisted the urge to start fiddling with everything that dared to cross the space between her fingers. "The gate has been stable for so long, and I don't want it to start falling apart now. We did so much years ago to make sure that nothing bad like this happened again."

Koushiro shook his head. "Right now, it's too early to say much of anything. Still, with what we heard from Taichi, Sora, and Hikari about the dark patch of data on his shell, I think that we need to consider this a serious matter until we can find answers," she told him. "I'm surprised that we haven't heard anything from Gennai or Qinglongmon as of late if the gate between worlds really is falling apart though. I would have expected to hear at least something."

Miyako sighed at his words. She had heard that Gennai was rather distant from the Chosen Children a majority of the time between the adventures of 1999 and 2002, but that had completely changed since the fall of BelialVamdemon. Koushiro got regular reports on how the Digital World was doing from Gennai, and he often updated the rest of the team on what he had heard as well. To suddenly not hear anything was concerning, and that felt like an understatement. It made Miyako's internalized itch so much worse in the blink of an eye. 

"All we can do is wait and see what happens next," Koushiro told her, a light smile on his face as he tried to lessen the heavy tension hanging in the air. "I'll do what I can to get into contact with Gennai, and I'll see if Qinglongmon has anything to tell us about. Everything is going to be alright. We'll find a way to handle it."

"Thanks," Miyako murmured as she dropped her gaze to her feet. Koushiro could likely feel how anxious she was. Miyako was all about getting up and running when it came to matters like this, but something about what was going on left her feeling oddly nervous. She wasn't sure how she knew that this was different from what had happened three years prior, but something told her that there was more to this situation than met the eye. 

Koushiro's eyes went wide when he realized what time it was, and he shoved his phone into his pocket a moment later. "We should get to class. We shouldn't be late on the second day," he told Miyako with the same kindness that she was used to from him. He pulled himself to his full height before waving in her direction and walking away. 

Miyako followed suit, but the nagging sensation never quite left her. She began to scratch anxiously at the base of her neck. It did little to calm the fear that was mounting inside of her, but at least it gave her something to do. She would be able to go back to Hawkmon after school was over to speak with him about what happened. She simply had to hold on until then. 

~~~~~

Miyako had been hoping that her anxiety would get better as the day went on and other distractions presented themselves, but she wasn't able to fully detach herself from the panic that threatened to tear her in half. The issue of not knowing was only bothering her more as the seconds passed by. Three years prior, everything had been simple in the beginning, and the lack of information made her feel like she wanted to tear her hair out until some answer or another presented itself to her. 

Miyako was walking home alone since Koushiro had stayed after school to help with some club or another. She didn't know how he could manage to remain so involved elsewhere at a time like this, but at the same time, Miyako was sure that she and Koushiro coped differently when it came to these situations. All she could do was focus on herself for the time being. 

She was staring at her phone, and the screen was displaying the chat log from the discussion with the Chosen Children. They had already agreed to meet up as soon as they could, about halfway through Sunday morning, to talk about what had happened. Miyako was counting the minutes until the meeting arrived, and she kept on watching the conversation with hopes that she would see a new message the instant that anybody said anything. When no responses came to the finished conversation, all Miyako could do was sigh in frustration and shove her phone away until her own impatience prompted her to reclaim the device once again. 

Miyako barely even noticed it when the wind around her began to whip with a newfound sense of ferocity. She frowned to herself as a strand of lavender shifted away from her shoulder to slam into her cheek. The wind had been so calm a moment prior, so what could have suddenly caused such a change. 

_Run._

She wasn't sure of where the instinct had come from, but Miyako followed it as soon as she had gathered her bearings. Her shoes slammed against the ground below, propelling her forward in no direction in particular. There weren't any people around, and Miyako was thankful for that since it meant she didn't have to weave her way in between frustrated people who would have likely only rolled their eyes in her direction. 

By the time that Miyako managed to convince herself to turn around, she had already moved about thirty paces from her previous location. She tilted her head over her shoulder after shoving her hair away from her face with shaking hands, her phone still grasped tightly between her fingers. 

It was a Digimon, and Miyako cursed herself for not realizing that sooner. It had grand orange wings that almost bordered on being yellow. Its clothing was red with yellow flare patterns scattered about, and two swords were strapped to its waist. She watched as the creature unsheathed the blades, and Miyako yelped with hopes that it would decide to keep its distance. 

Just to prove Miyako wrong, the Digimon attempted to sweep down towards her, and Miyako managed to jump out of the way just in time. By some stroke of a miracle, she landed on her feet, though she almost fell over thanks to her lingering momentum. She breathed heavily as she watched the Digimon recover. It barely seemed to be alive, almost as if its strings were being pulled by some unseen master. 

Miyako desperately attempted to find a way out of the situation, and she watched the Digimon for any signs of a weakness. She needed Hawkmon if she was going to do anything, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to her apartment building without winding up hurt or worse at the hands of her assailant. Her fingers began to type out a message rapidly into the chat that she was in with the other Chosen Children, and she prayed that at least one of them was able to see her text before anything happened. 

When she glanced up, Miyako let out a gasp. There was something strange about the Digimon, and she recognized it as soon as her gaze fell upon its wings once again. There was a small patch of dark data shifting with each passing second, and she felt her stomach twist into a knot. She should have known that something like this was going to happen. Damn it. The newcomer was under the same influence that Kuwagamon had endured, and that wasn't something that she was equipped to deal with. Hadn't Hikari mentioned something about Kuwagamon seeming stronger while he was dealing with the dark data? 

"Spiking Finish!" 

Miyako let out a gasp when she heard the familiar call, and she glanced up to see Stingmon charging through the air, one arm outstretched in his signature attack. He attempted to strike at the side of the Digimon, but he was blocked when Miyako's attacker raised its sword to deflect the attack. Stingmon retreated before getting ready for yet another strike. 

"Miyako!" 

Ken came dashing into view soon afterwards, his hair beating against his face rapidly. His ponytail had come loose, and it was on the verge of falling out of his dark hair completely. Ken barely seemed to mind as he slid to a stop beside Miyako, still breathing heavily because of his sudden dash. "Are you alright?" he questioned, his voice tender and anxious. 

Miyako nodded, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him out of pure relief. "Yeah, I'm fine!" she cried out, only realizing a bit too late that she was talking incredibly loudly thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her body. "Who in the world is that? How did you know to come and find me?"

"That's Buraimon. Wormmon told me as much before we came in your direction," Ken explained. "I had just gotten home when I noticed that he was flying around. We decided to try and chase him, but we didn't catch up until just now. I'm so glad that we made it in time."

"Yeah, me too," Miyako commented with a playful snort. She didn't want to imagine what could have happened if she had been caught up in the crossfire of Buraimon's attacks. She wasn't anywhere near as good at running as some other members of the team, and she wouldn't have been able to get away from him in time. Not for the first time in her life, Miyako praised the universe for granting her the gift of a human being that was Ken Ichijouji. 

She was also glad that he had come to move a bit closer to the other Chosen Children, and she knew that he wouldn't have found her in time if not for that. Ken's family had moved to Odaiba for some reason that Miyako couldn't remember in her adrenaline-induced haze, and they were still getting settled in after their change of scenery from roughly a month prior. With Ken's arrival on top of Mimi's return, that left all twelve of the Chosen Children closer together physically than ever before, and Miyako absolutely loved such a fact. It made spending time with them much easier than it ever had been. 

"Do you think that Stingmon is going to be able to handle him on his own?" Miyako questioned after she managed to collect her anxieties and shove them out of the forefront of her mind. "I don't have Hawkmon with me, so I don't know if I'll be able to help you out more."

"Don't worry about that," Ken assured her. "I already told Takeru and Iori about what happened. They're going to be picking up Hawkmon on their way here, and I believe that they've at least passed the message on so that Hikari and Daisuke know as well. They'll be here soon, and we'll take care of him without any issues."

Miyako let out a sigh of relief, and she closed her eyes as she forced a grounding breath through her lungs. "That's good," she whispered to herself, unsure of what else would even be fitting to say in the situation. She yearned for Hawkmon more than ever, and she offered herself at least a little bit of comfort with the knowledge that he would be there soon. 

She turned her attention towards the sky once again, and she watched as Stingmon dodged a double-slash attack from Buraimon. The bug Digimon launched himself forward once again, grabbing firmly onto Buraimon's arms. Unfortunately, all it took was a swift kick for the bird-like Digimon to break free, and Miyako winced when Stingmon's body folded over itself from the sudden pain. 

"He is stronger than the average Digimon," Ken murmured, his face contorted with tension. "Hikari was right. The black data patch must do something to augment their strength. I doubt that an Adult Digimon would be able to cause this much trouble for Stingmon after all the fighting that we've done in the past."

Miyako did the best to resist the urge to let out a sigh of agony at his words, knowing that Ken had a point but hating that he did. "And you can't form Paildramon if Daisuke isn't here," she whispered despairingly. She let out a sigh and started to fidget with her Digivice once she had pulled it away from its place in the front pocket of her school bag. She had managed to keep it hidden during class, and Miyako was beyond glad for such forethought. She didn't know if it would have been possible for Takeru and Iori to pick up her Digivice if they didn't know where it was. Her room wasn't exactly the cleanest at the moment, and she didn't want to delay their arrival any more than necessary. 

Stingmon swept towards Buraimon after he managed to avoid another attack, and Miyako realized that the Digimon had recovered from the earlier assault when she wasn't paying attention. She bit down on her lip nervously and shook her head. Buraimon and Stingmon were too high in the air for her to be able to hear their attacks as they were being exclaimed, and she couldn't seem to calm her nerves. 

Ken's hand came down firm yet gentle against her shoulder, and Miyako let out a gasp as she turned to face him. "We're going to handle this," she assured him. She realized that he was more than familiar with her behavior of spiraling when things started to turn for the worse, and she couldn't help but smile thankfully at how well he knew her. 

"Thanks, Ken," she said softly. Miyako reached up and allowed herself to touch his hand gently. She had gotten over her crush on him quite some time prior, but she still enjoyed his company greatly. In fact, Miyako wasn't hesitant to say that Ken was one of her closest friends without question. 

For a while, the moments simply passed by that way. The wind blew around Miyako and Ken as they watched in concern from afar at what was taking place with Stingmon and Buraimon in the sky above. Ken's hand fell away from Miyako's shoulder when his ponytail threatened to fall apart once and for all, and he took a moment to retie it. She could hear him sighing with slight frustration when his hair slipped through his anxious grasp, and Miyako could imagine it perfectly in her mind even though she didn't turn around to face him. 

Buraimon tried to deliver a harsh stab in Stingmon's direction, and the bug Digimon swept low to avoid it before punching upwards to the ninja Digimon. Buraimon's expression contorted with rage, and Miyako could tell that he was growling even though she was incredibly far away. She cringed and watched as Buraimon's rage was renewed, giving him increased vigor to lash out at Stingmon with. She began to work her lip between her teeth once again, and she prayed that nothing happened until backup arrived. Damn it, how long was it going to take Takeru and Iori to get there? 

Stingmon launched himself higher into the air before kicking downwards in Buraimon's direction, and the other Digimon reeled at the contact. Miyako winced when Buraimon tried to lunge forwards once again, but Stingmon took advantage of the confusion to swerve out of the way until he was in an advantageous position once again. He prepared his Spiking Finish attack once again before launching towards Buraimon, the sharpened blade of energy extended before him. Buraimon's wing was clipped, sending a few rogue feathers floating down to the ground near where Miyako and Ken were standing together. Miyako resisted the urge to step forwards and pick up the feathers, knowing that it wouldn't accomplish anything beyond upsetting her further, and that was the last thing that she needed. 

"This isn't a one-off issue," Miyako whispered as soon as she was able to force herself to speak once again. Stingmon punched Buraimon in the chest, but the opposing Digimon followed up with attack of his own that sent the two fighters involved spiraling in opposite directions. They moved towards one another soon afterwards, but their clash seemed a bit less intense than before, like due to a loss of energy that came from the severe damage they were sustaining. 

"No... It isn't," Ken said simply. He seemed to know that there was nothing he could say in that situation to make it easier to handle, so he didn't bother saying anything. When Miyako glanced over her shoulder to watch Ken, she could see that his bright eyes were reflecting concern in crystallized fragments, and her heart felt as if it was being torn in half. He was wishing that he could do more for Stingmon, but there wasn't a way for his partner to get stronger without the presence of Daisuke and ExVeemon. Paildramon wasn't possible for them to attain at that moment, so Stingmon was simply going to have to hold it off. 

Miyako's gaze found the black patch of data attached to Buraimon's wing, and she let out a sigh. This was proof that her fears had most certainly had basis from the beginning, and chances were that there was someone out there causing this to happen. An outside figure was influencing these events, inflicting Digimon with this terrible condition and sending them across the barrier to attack Earth. As far as Miyako could tell, members of their group specifically were being targeted. It made sense with what Taichi had said about Kuwagamon, and it seemed to apply to Buraimon as well. 

"I wonder how many other Digimon have that dark data on them," Ken went on, earning him Miyako's attention once again. "If there are already two, then chances are that there are more of them. I somehow doubt that this is simply a coincidence, and I know that you caught onto that already as well."

"Unfortunately, I did," Miyako muttered, doing her best to keep from growing too upset. She was failing, and she was fully aware of such a fact. She sighed and tried to focus on the battle at hand. Stingmon appeared to have found a strategy that worked, and he managed to send Buraimon hurtling towards the ground. The ninja Digimon corrected his course before he made contact with the ground, and he averted himself before any fall damage could be inflicted. Buraimon's burning desire for vengeance had only grown stronger as far as Miyako was concerned, and she winced at the idea. 

"We'll have to bring this up when we meet with the other members of the group," Ken pointed out. His words were starting to grow faster, breaks fewer and farther between. Of course he was getting anxious. The longer that the other members of the group took, the worse Stingmon's condition got. It made sense, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. 

Almost as if on cue, a bright laser of resplendent white-yellow light coursed through the sky before slamming into Buraimon's chest. Stingmon took this as a chance to put distance between himself and his foe, and he looked to the horizon to try and find the source of the attack. Miyako's face slipped into a grin as she realized what was happening. As far as she could tell, their backup had finally arrived, and that laser was proof of it. 

Sure enough, when Miyako turned around, she was left to stare directly at Takeru and Iori as the two made their way down the street. They were both mounted atop Ankylomon, and Takeru was waving from afar with his smile as bright as the overhead afternoon sun. Each heavy step that Ankylomon took brought him closer to the battle, and Miyako raised one hand to block out the excruciating sunlight. 

"Hawkmon! Takeru! Iori!" Miyako cried out when she saw the outline of her partner Digimon. She watched as Hawkmon took off and began to fly in her direction, and she spread her arms open wide to receive him. As soon as he was within her grasp, Miyako pulled him in close, loving the feeling of his feathers against her face. 

Ken glanced up to the sky, and he realized where the attack had come from that caught Buraimon by surprise in the first place. "Angemon arrived just in time," he said simply. "This should turn the tides for us when it comes to defeating our foe."

Miyako nodded, and she gripped her D-3 a bit tighter as she released Hawkmon. Her partner's glimmering blue eyes looked up at her, and she allowed herself the chance to smile. All of a sudden, the world as a whole felt a lot less terrifying, and she held her D-3 in Hawkmon's direction. "Hawkmon! You know what to do!" she cried out, her fingers closing in around the red and white device with even more force than before. 

Light exploded forth from the D-3's screen, and Hawkmon's shape began to change rapidly. "Hawkmon, evolve to... Aquilamon!" When the glow faded, Aquilamon was in Hawkmon's place, and he nodded to Miyako before taking off into the sky to aid Stingmon in the coming battle. His Blast Rings attack immediately knocked Buraimon off balance, giving Stingmon the opportunity to retreat and hopefully recuperate from the injuries that the fight had already left behind. 

Ankylomon came to a stop behind Miyako and Ken, and Takeru and Iori slid off the Digimon's back. Takeru was still dressed in his school uniform, but since Iori was still in elementary school, he didn't have one and was wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt under a muted lavender jacket as a result. Takeru's hair was left to glitter in the sunlight since he didn't have a hat on, and he ran one hand through it after he realized just how messy it had gotten during his ride on Ankylomon. 

"Are you alright?" Iori questioned, getting down to the point immediately. His eyes were sharpened and hard, and Miyako recognized that as his determined stare. It was par for the course when it came to interacting with Iori, something that she had learned many years ago when they first became friends. 

"A bit rattled, but aside from that, yes," Ken answered for Miyako. She was about to ask him where the rattled part had come from when she realized that her hands were still shaking, likely because of her harrowing encounter with Buraimon from before he had arrived. She managed a nervous smile before willing her fingers to stop trembling. 

"I'm glad to hear that," Takeru said, his smile appearing naturally once again. It was part of Takeru's charm, and Miyako had to admit that seeing that carefree grin always put her at ease as well. There was something about Takeru that was captivating in a way that she couldn't quite describe, and she was glad to have him in her life. 

All four of them looked up to the sky, and Takeru continued. "I don't think that we should invite Shakkoumon to fight in this battle. Our enemy is far too fast for Shakkoumon to be able to handle. Angemon's speed will be necessary to get in the damage that we require," he explained. A quick glance down to Iori told Takeru that his Jogress partner agreed. 

Miyako knew that Takeru was right, but she still felt her stomach do flips in response to his words. Shakkoumon wouldn't be able to do what they needed in this fight, and it was going to be important for the speed of their fighters to remain intact. This wouldn't have been an issue where Paildramon or Silphymon were concerned, but Daisuke and Hikari were still absent, so that wasn't exactly an option for them. Miyako's anxiety came back all over again, and she prayed that the three Digimon hovering in the overhead sky were able to defeat Buraimon like she was hoping for. 

Deep down, Miyako was sure that they would be able to do it. After all, their Digimon were strong fighters and had been through many battles up to that point. Still, she was oddly anxious about the fight at hand, likely because of how strangely powerful Buraimon was compared to most other Adult Digimon. There was something going on, likely because of the black patch of data on his wing, and it made her nervous beyond description. 

"He has a patch of black data on his wing. It's just like what happened with Kuwagamon," Ken told Takeru, Iori, and Ankylomon. "We think that it's making him stronger than the average Digimon, and he's darker as a whole too. That fits the description of what we heard about from Taichi, Sora, and Hikari."

Takeru's stunning smile faltered. "It seems as if this is going to be an issue for quite some time then," he said softly. Miyako hated hearing him confirm her worst fears, but she knew that she couldn't exactly disagree with what he had to say. After all, he was right. Everyone was correct in that assumption, and she couldn't object no matter how much she wanted to deny that the barrier truly was falling apart. 

"Do you know how he could have gotten here?" Iori asked Miyako as Aquilamon dove towards Buraimon and seized the ninja between his claws. Buraimon thrashed but was ultimately unable to escape. "You were the one who he attacked first."

Miyako shook her head. "No, I don't have any ideas. I was just walking home when he showed up out of nowhere," she responded. "He was after me before you three showed up. He was actively trying to attack me even though I didn't have any Digimon with me."

"It's just like what Taichi said then," Takeru said softly. "I'm glad that we were able to get here before anything bad could have happened. For some reason, it seems like the Digimon with the dark data patches are targeting us specifically, but I don't know why."

Miyako whimpered at his words, but her spirits were lifted when she saw that Stingmon had managed to dive towards Buraimon's wing. Aquilamon still had the ninja Digimon pinned in place between his talons, and that gave Stingmon the perfect chance to strike directly at the dark patch of data. Buraimon struggled in the moments before Stingmon's attack made contact, but then everything began to change. 

The shift was immediate, and Buraimon fell limp in Aquilamon's grasp. Everyone watched as the color returned to his body in full, and the data patch disintegrated as if it had never existed in the first place. Miyako blinked to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her, but deep down, she knew that this was real. It was just like what she had heard about from Taichi, and as much as she hated to say it, this was further proof to the theory that this was only the beginning of whatever else fate had in store for them. 

"I guess that all we have left to do is send him back to the Digital World," Iori said simply as he glanced down at the ground. "We didn't have time to bring a laptop with us. We were in a hurry to make sure that nothing happened before we could get here."

Miyako sighed. She should have seen that much coming, but it bothered her regardless. It wasn't as if any of them could have come up with a solution to something like this given the time crunch, but it certainly put the pressure on them to figure out a way to get rid of Buraimon before anyone showed up and started asking questions. That damn itch was back, and Miyako felt like no matter how much she scratched, she wouldn't ever be able to soothe it. 

Takeru's gaze was analytical and careful as he glanced over the area, but he was cut off by his phone vibrating. He pulled the device from his pocket and checked the screen. A smile appeared on his face. "It seems as if that isn't going to be an issue, as a matter of fact," he told the other members of the group. "Daisuke says that he and Hikari are together, and they'll be here with what we need soon enough."

"Thank goodness that Hikari knows how to think ahead like this," Miyako said dramatically, knowing fully well that this had been her idea and not Daisuke's suggestion. She was used to the way that her team functioned after being part of it for so long, and she wasn't about to suggest the improbable. 

"What are we supposed to do about the data patch?" Ken questioned. "It seems like it disappeared after we managed to hit it with enough force, so I guess that's going to be our method to get rid of them when they happen to appear." 

"That's what Tailmon had to do during the battle against Kuwagamon too," Takeru commented under his breath before shaking his head. "I don't know why I'm even surprised... I was positive that this would become a recurring issue. I didn't want to believe it, but..."

"None of us did," Iori pointed out, his voice as even as ever. "We didn't want to accept the concept that the Digital World's barrier is on the verge of giving in once again to instability, but that's our only option at the moment, so we have to accept that we're needed once again."

"This hasn't been happening anywhere else in the world, you know," Takeru told the group with a frown. "I already did what I could to communicate with other teams, and all of the groups that have gotten back to me said that they haven't had any issues with this. It seems like it's an issue exclusive to Odaiba, so it's something that we'll have to solve on our own time."

"Absolutely perfect," Miyako muttered. She wasn't exactly asking for the rest of the world to struggle under the force of invasions from another world, but it didn't sit well with her in the slightest that there was something wrong only in Odaiba. The fact that she had been targeted by Buraimon just a few minutes prior only made her feel worse, and Miyako felt like she was going to be sick all over again. This was nauseating, and they hadn't even gotten into the thick of things yet. She was positive that there was much more for them to put up with yet, as much as she hated to admit it. 

Ken suddenly glanced up from the team's brief discussion, and he smiled widely in the direction of the sky. He waved one hand above his head, and Miyako followed his line of sight to see what he was looking at. Her face slipped into a smile when she noticed what had caught Ken's attention, and she found herself doing the same thing as him, thrashing her arms wildly in the air above her head. 

Daisuke and Hikari were both cradled in ExVeemon's grasp, one in each arm. Tailmon sat in Daisuke's lap while Hikari clutched tightly at a laptop. As the blue and white Digimon landed, he set down his three passengers carefully before reverting back to Veemon a moment later. His smile remained bright and cheerful as he followed the other members of the group over to where their companions were waiting. 

"Thank you for remembering to bring a laptop," Takeru told Hikari when she was within range of hearing them. Hikari smiled in response, and the two of them shared a small laugh like they had some kind of inside joke. Miyako didn't think that there was anything of particular note going on involving the situation, but she found herself snorting with approval regardless. She knew how Takeru and Hikari could get, and she had to confess that she thought of it as endearing and sweet. 

Hikari flipped open the laptop and began to pull up the gate to the Digital World. The bottom of the device was balanced on one arm as she navigated through the programs with her other hand. Takeru took the computer from her grasp and held it up so that she would have an expanded range of motion. Hikari gave him a grateful nod before the program appeared on the screen. 

Aquilamon, Stingmon, and Angemon had all lowered themselves to the ground in the time that it took Daisuke and Hikari to approach, and Buraimon remained limp as could be between Aquilamon's talons. Hikari looked over to Miyako, almost as if she was asking her friend to do the honors. Miyako grinned in response before raising her D-3. 

The gate opened seamlessly, and Buraimon's outline blurred into a haze of data before disappearing into the screen. Miyako let out a sigh when the job had been done, and she watched as Hikari folded the laptop shut once again. The Chosen Child of Light tucked it under her arm soon afterwards, and she used her other hand to brush a few loose strands of hair away from her face. 

"It looks like you managed to wrap that up without any problems," Daisuke smiled. His grin was as bright as the sun itself, but Miyako had to admit that he looked a bit strange. She realized belatedly that it was because he wasn't wearing his goggles. He was still dressed in his school uniform, and he couldn't exactly bring his goggles to school most of the time. It was even rarer to see Daisuke without his goggles than to see Takeru without a hat, and Miyako found it oddly unsettling. 

"I wish that you had saved a bit for us though!" Veemon cried out as he waddled over in the direction of the Chosen Children. Daisuke dropped a hand in his partner's direction and gave Veemon a fond scratch on the head, and Veemon laughed at the contact, clearly enjoying it far more than he was willing to admit openly. 

"It was another Digimon with a dark patch of data," Iori told Daisuke. "We don't know where it could have come from or why, but that's what happened. The Digimon passed through the barrier thanks to some outside force, and then it started to attack Miyako. It stopped as soon as the dark patch of data was removed. That makes you wonder if perhaps Buraimon was being controlled."

"We're going to have to consider this in the future," Takeru remarked softly. Ankylomon and the other Digimon began to glow, and they reverted back into Child form before reuniting with their partners. Takeru raised his arms and pulled Patamon in close as his partner sailed into his grasp. 

"Yeah... That's one way of putting it," Miyako whispered. She found herself looking up to the sky anxiously even though she knew that everything was fine. Buraimon had been taken care of, but that didn't stop her from feeling as if there was still someone watching her. However, when she tried to glance around in all directions, she didn't see anything that would point to the fact of her being watched being true. She wanted to calm down desperately, but she just couldn't seem to persuade herself to do it. 

"We're going to find the answer to this," Hikari assured her, noticing that the other girl was so nervous. She placed a comforting hand on Miyako's shoulder, and Hikari allowed her friend to be pulled in closer. Miyako liked it far more than she was willing to admit openly, and she thanked Hikari for having such a naturally calming presence that always seemed to break right through any barriers that had previously been constructed. 

"For now, I guess that we should get out of here," Ken remarked. "We don't want anyone to come in our direction when they realized that something happened. This area is rather empty, but we shouldn't count ourselves that lucky forever. Come on. We need to find somewhere else to talk about this."

"Let's go to my apartment," Takeru said immediately. "My mom is working late tonight, so we'll have it all to ourselves. I think it would be a perfect environment for us to talk about it without getting any strange looks since we have the Digimon with us."

There were no objections to Takeru's suggestion, and Miyako allowed her head to drop down as she was consumed by her own thoughts. She truly didn't know what to think about all of this, but she was positive that she didn't like it. Everything had become so overwhelming all of a sudden, and she wanted to take a step back and just sigh until it was over. Still, she knew that wasn't an option, so she walked to Takeru's apartment following the familiar steps that she would have used to get home herself had Buraimon not come out of nowhere to attack her. 

The rest of the journey back was a blur, and Miyako barely registered what was happening around her. Before she knew it, she had flopped rather unceremoniously against the couch in Takeru's apartment. She welcomed the space fully, and it was nice to be somewhere familiar after the rough day that she had endured. It was hard to believe that it had only been a handful of hours since she discussed their next move with Koushiro in the schoolyard before classes began. 

"Alright," Takeru began. Patamon flew off to grab one of his partner's hats, and when he returned, a worn baseball cap was in his small paws. Takeru took it from Patamon with a thankful smile before pulling the hat onto his head. The shadows did little to hinder the natural glow of his eyes. "We should go over what we know for the time being."

"Buraimon came out of nowhere to attack me when I was on my way home. It was pretty clear that he was targeting me specifically until Stingmon and Ken showed up to offer a distraction. I don't know where he could have come from or why, but he clearly wasn't holding back at all. I couldn't run away from him since he caught up without any issues," Miyako said quickly. Hawkmon was sitting in her lap, and she was holding him tightly as a way of getting out her stress silently. He let out a small yelp when she pulled him a bit too much, and she smiled anxiously before releasing her grasp ever so slightly. 

"He had a dark patch of data, and that's the same thing that happened when we encountered Kuwagamon," Hikari explained. "As soon as the data patch was hit during the Kuwagamon fight, he went completely limp, almost as if the fight had never happened. His color scheme was far darker too, and that didn't change until after the patch of data was destroyed."

"It sounds to me like we're dealing with some kind of virus," Armadimon declared lazily from his place beside Iori's feet. His head was pressed against the ground, and he seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep after all the constant activity. Miyako had to confess that she didn't know how he could have still been exhausted given how Armadimon spent most of his days sleeping when Iori wasn't around anyways. Then again, she supposed that he had always been a bit too relaxed for his own good. 

"When we had to fight against Digimon being controlled by the black gears of File Island, all it took was destroying them for everything to go back to normal," Patamon announced. "That could be similar to what's happening here too. Back then, Devimon was the one responsible for all of that though, so there has to be somebody pulling the strings that we don't know about yet." Takeru pulled Patamon in a bit closer, and Patamon watched his partner with wide, worried cerulean eyes. Takeru's face showed no traces of emotion all of a sudden, and Miyako had to actively resist the nervous urge to keep from shivering. 

"In that case, we should try to see if we can learn more about who could be behind this," Tailmon declared. "I don't know how much information we'll be able to find on this side of the barrier, but somebody must have let Kuwagamon and Buraimon through. As soon as we can figure that out, we should have at least an inkling of evidence regarding our perpetrator."

"I bet that they released Buraimon and then retreated back into the Digital World to keep from being caught at the scene," Ken suggested. "Miyako said that she didn't see anything that appeared to be too out of the ordinary, and I know that Stingmon and I didn't notice anything on the way to save her either."

"I felt like I was being watched after the fight ended though," Hikari said softly. She perked up a moment later and shook her head. "I suppose that I could have just been a bit paranoid, but... I don't know. I felt like there was somebody who was still staring at us even after we got rid of the dark data patch on Buraimon's wing."

"Me too," Daisuke chimed in, his eyes wide. "I didn't see anyone when I looked around, so I thought it was just my imagination, but I guess that if you felt it too, then there must have been something there. Whoever did this must have been hiding to make sure that we didn't catch them then."

Miyako nodded gently, suddenly feeling the need to shudder all over again. She didn't like the implications of what Daisuke and Hikari were saying. She had felt as if she was being watching too, but it didn't sit well regardless. After spending so long embracing peace, Miyako felt as if the ground was shifting beneath her feet, and she was fully aware of how she had never been particularly adaptable. Just her luck. 

"Somebody must have let Buraimon through the barrier, and the same applies to Kuwagamon," Wormmon chimed in from his place on Ken's lap. He nuzzled against his partner's hand when Ken stroked a sweet spot on top of his head. "The barrier would take a while to degrade far enough for them to break through on their own, and we would have heard about it if that was the case. I think that we should keep our eyes open for any people who we think could have let them through the gate to make sure that they aren't causing too much trouble for us in the future."

"I wish wish that we knew where to look," Iori murmured. "Right now, we don't have any clues about where to even start looking, and that's going to make this much more difficult. There's certainly a culprit hiding somewhere in the shadows... We'll look around in the Digital World when we get the chance to go there. All we have to do is hold out for a few more days until everyone is ready to go over there with us."

"You're right," Miyako sighed, shaking her head. She was desperate to jump through the gate right then and there, but she could tell that the Digimon were still tired from their adventures in either traveling through the city or battling against Buraimon. It wasn't as easy for the Digimon to fight on Earth when compared to the Digital World, and Miyako knew that there was no point in pushing them too far. It would only leave all of them hurt and suffering, and that was the last thing that any of them wanted. 

Besides, Miyako didn't even know if she would have been up for going with the rest of the group through the barrier to the Digital World. She was still exhausted from her sudden brush with combat, and since the last wave of nerves had finally left her behind, Miyako was left feeling nothing short of completely exhausted. She was glad that they had gone to Takeru's apartment so that she could give her legs a rest. She didn't think that she would ever be used to running for her life whether it be through the Digital World or Earth. 

"We'll update everyone when we see them next time," Takeru announced. "I'm sure that they'll want to hear about this. I'll send a message to the rest of the team to make sure that we're still ready to meet on Sunday. I can't imagine that anything has changed in the past day or so. In fact, everyone will probably be even more eager to see us given what happened today. This means that we'll have to be on our guard to make sure that nothing else like this happens until we can find the root of the issue. We can't place civilians in danger, and it's already happened twice."

"Alright then," Daisuke declared as he rose to his feet, stretching his arms above his head. Miyako noticed that he suddenly looked taller, but she took a small bit of pride internally knowing that he only seemed so large because she was still sitting down. When she stood beside him, she was still taller, and she had been for ages. 

"I guess that we should all go our separate ways for the time being," Hikari said, understanding what Daisuke was trying to imply with his actions. She smiled to herself as well. "I know that I could certainly use a bit of time to unwind after that. Even if we didn't appear until the end of the fight, it still certainly got my heart racing."

"You have no idea," Miyako remarked with a small snicker, trying to keep herself from sounding too anxious. She got to her feet as well, and she smiled to herself when she noted that, just as she had known, she was still taller than Daisuke. Meanwhile, Hawkmon found his footing as well, and he glanced up at Miyako with glistening eyes. 

"I'll see you all soon," Ken declared as he waved and walked out of the room. Miyako was silently thankful once again that his family had moved closer to the rest of the team recently, knowing that it would have been a complete nightmare for Ken to go back home via train after all of this. 

Miyako trailed out soon afterwards, and she bid the rest of the team farewell for the afternoon. She realized that she was still in her school uniform, and she looked back with a wince. "Dang," she murmured to herself. She was going to have to hang it up as soon as she got back to her apartment. The entire outfit was absolutely covered with wrinkles, and she wasn't even sure if there was a way for her to straighten it out overnight without expending immense effort that she didn't think she was capable of in that moment. 

"You look exhausted," Hawkmon commented simply after Miyako had taken him into her grasp. They were moving in the direction of Miyako's apartment within the same building, and suddenly, the journey felt a thousand times longer than it had any right to be. Miyako blamed her bad mood and exhaustion for the sudden sensation that the world was trying to smother her alive. 

"I guess I am," Miyako muttered. She shook her head to dismiss the concerns that were quickly rising in the back of her mind. "I could certainly use a nap when we get back. I don't know what you've been doing all day, but I would love the company."

Hawkmon let out a chuckle, and Miyako grinned in response. Poromon spent much of his time sleeping, but Hawkmon wasn't anything like that. She suspected that Hawkmon had found a book sitting on her shelf to dig into, and the gleam in his eyes told her that her assumptions were correct. 

As Miyako made her way into her apartment, she set Hawkmon down on the floor. It was easy for her to navigate to her bedroom. Sure enough, she could see a book flipped upside-down with its pages facing the desk below. It was a historical fiction book about ninjas, and Miyako couldn't help but smile at how perfectly Hawkmon that was. She picked up the book before shoving a scrap piece of paper between the pages to mark his place. He had likely set it down sloppily in his wishes to reach Miyako as soon as possible when Takeru and Iori came knocking with their partners. After all, it simply wasn't like Hawkmon to leave something as untidy as that. He was the reason that her room wasn't an absolute wreck half the time. 

Miyako dramatically collapsed onto her bed as soon as that business had been taken care of, and her eyes slipped shut easily. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this," she murmured. She was on the verge of falling asleep soon afterwards, and Hawkmon chuckled from his place nearby. Miyako descended into slumber within a matter of moments, leaving Hawkmon as the only one awake in the room. 

Hawkmon easily reached his wing out to take Miyako's glasses from her face and set them on the nearby desk. He realized that she had accidentally forgotten to change out of her school uniform, but he decided that he would be able to ask her about it after she woke up. For the time being, she needed rest above all else, and Hawkmon decided to join her. He sat down on her bed before laying down in the small space that Miyako wasn't occupying herself. Despite the setting sun streaming in through the window, they were able to spend the rest of the afternoon dozing without a care in the world. 

~~~~~

Takeru set down his phone after he had finished explaining the situation to the members of the team who had been absent from the fight earlier in the afternoon. Patamon sat at his side, and the television droned on in the background. Neither one of them were paying much attention to the program being displayed on the screen, but it didn't matter much anyways. The television was on as a way of combatting the silence that always seemed to be so oppressive when nobody else was home. There was only so much noise that Takeru and Patamon could make on their own. 

Takeru had changed out of his school uniform, and the blazer, shirt, and trousers were hanging in the doorway of his bedroom. The same hat from before sat atop his messy golden hair, and he wore a simple t-shirt with loose sweatpants as well. He didn't exactly have any plans on going out for the rest of the evening, so Takeru didn't see much of a reason to look presentable. He needed a moment to unwind after all that had taken place that afternoon anyways. 

"What do you think of all this?" Patamon questioned after Takeru's phone had safely found a home on the couch beside him. "You seemed awfully stressed earlier when we were talking about our suspicions."

Takeru opened his mouth to respond, but Patamon cut him off before he had the chance to form words. "It's because I brought up Devimon, isn't it?" he asked. When Takeru didn't respond after a long moment of silence, Patamon nodded. "That's what I thought... But everything is okay now, Takeru. I'm here with you, and I'm not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. You know that I'm here for you."

"I do," Takeru assured him softly as he began to rub at the top of his partner's head. Patamon's wings fluttered at the delightful contact as he scooted a bit closer to Takeru's side. For a moment, it felt as if they were the only ones in the world who mattered. 

Takeru glanced back up at the television as it continued to drone without a care in the world. He had gotten used to his mother working late nights, but that didn't make it any easier when he had an off day. This most certainly fell into the category of an unpleasant day, and Takeru was desperate to see another person even if it was just for a while. The Chosen Children had left to take care of their separate business issues because they were pushed together on a whim and were left exhausted as a result. He couldn't exactly blame them for leaving. 

Still, Takeru would have been lying if he said that he didn't want them to stay. In fact, he would have absolutely loved such an idea. It was a school night, so that likely wasn't the best idea, but it remained in the back of his mind regardless. Takeru focused on the show playing out on the screen before him, almost forcing himself to get out of his own head for at least a few moments. 

A buzzing noise left his phone, and Takeru pulled it up so that he could read the new message that had arrived. He treated the device as a lifeline, his one connection to people outside. He read the new response quietly, and Patamon looked over in curiosity. Takeru instinctively lowered his phone so that Patamon could see the screen without needing to move away from his cozy position. 

The sender was none other than Jou. He was on top of things as always, it seemed. Takeru smiled as he looked over the message: 

_'At least we took care of it before anything could get out of hand. We wouldn't want anyone hurt.'_

That much was obvious. Takeru didn't want to think about people getting hurt as far as Digimon attacks on Earth were concerned. It was a worrying thought, to say the least. He was used to putting himself on the front lines of battle, and his friends had similar experiences. The concept of a civilian winding up at the heart of the crossfire was far less pleasant to him, and Takeru didn't even want to imagine what could have happened if something of that nature unfolded. He was sure that it wouldn't have been good at all. 

All they could do was take care of the issue before it could grow any larger. Takeru knew that it would have been dangerous to leave their enemies unchecked, and he was positive that this wouldn't be the last time they saw attacks on Earth. Even if the culprits weren't Kuwagamon and Buraimon, there would likely be others, and the group had to be prepared. 

The only way that it was going to stop would be if the Chosen Children could go into the Digital World, find the source of the problem, and put an end to it once and for all. Takeru wasn't sure what they were going to be up against, but he wanted to take care of the matter regardless. He didn't want to leave this alone for any longer than he absolutely had to. There were lives on the line, and Takeru knew better than to procrastinate on such important matters. 

A snore reached his ears, and Takeru glanced down to see that Patamon had fallen asleep. He chuckled, realizing that his partner had gotten tired after evolving to Angemon. Takeru continued his gentle stroking of the space between his partner's wings, and he allowed the motion to ground him against the tempest of the world around him. 

Takeru let out a small sigh and checked the time on his phone. It was getting closer to time to eat dinner, but he couldn't exactly sneak away to make anything as long as Patamon was laying on him. It was one of his most sacred rules: don't disturb a sleeping Digimon if possible. Patamon was no exception to this concept, and Takeru was just thankful that hunger hadn't taken him into its embrace quite yet. 

Natsuko wasn't going to be home until later in the night, and Takeru wished that she would arrive sooner than that. They had grown closer since his previous adventure, and Natsuko's curiosity towards matters of the Digital World, while hesitant at first, had only expanded with time. She was going to notice that something was off about him if he wasn't careful, and much to his own surprise, Takeru actually wanted to explain the negative connotations that came with recent events. It would have probably done him at least a little bit of good. 

Takeru's attention shifted back to the television before him, and he began to flick through channels mindlessly. The show that had been on wasn't loud enough. He needed just a little bit of extra noise to block out the silence that was starting to feel suffocating. There was only so much that the snores of his partner could block out, and Takeru was beyond positive that he needed more to escape the fear that the world around him brought for better or worse. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter time, baby! 
> 
> This time around, we've got yet another battle chapter. This time, everything is centered around the Zero Two cast. I said that we would be seeing more of them, and here we are. I have to say that writing for Miyako in this chapter was an absolute joy, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. Look at this disaster child. She deserves everything that the world has to offer and more. 
> 
> Ken is here too! I moved him out to Odaiba similar to Mimi because I wanted him to be as involved with the story as possible. Also, because I definitely subscribe to this headcanon, Ken has a ponytail now! I sort of loosely implied it during the scene where he saves Miyako, but here's your confirmation. Ponytail Ken is real, and you should believe in him too. 
> 
> As of now, the only character who we haven't seen directly is Jou out of the cast of the two original Adventure seasons. I promise that we're going to be seeing him soon enough. Since he hasn't made a physical appearance yet, I decided to give him the cameo through text message at the end just to show that I haven't forgotten about him. 
> 
> I don't think that there's anything else I need to say about this chapter. Since we're still in the earlier segments of the story, there isn't quite as much for me to comment on. Unlike with my Digimon Frontier rewrite, there aren't any evolution sequences right off the bat to comment on, so that means author's notes earlier on are pretty easy for me to round off. 
> 
> With that said, thank you for reading this chapter. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Feedback is appreciated as always, and I hope you have a nice day. I'll see you next week for chapter four!
> 
> -Digital


	4. Growing Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chosen Children gather to discuss the recent attacks.

The rest of the week was a strange combination of eternal in its length and speeding by far too fast. The information about the attack involving Buraimon spread quickly, and it was practically all that Taichi heard about at school the next day. Odaiba had fallen into a routine of regularity, and it didn't feel real to hear everyone discussing the monster assault and when they believed it was going to come next. All Taichi could do was bite down on his tongue and pray that nobody dug in too deep. He was positive that nobody could tie him to what was happening, but the nerve-wracking sensation remained regardless. 

The only people who had managed to catch pictures of Buraimon captured them before the attack on Miyako began. The area had been thankfully empty when the younger generation fended him off, and Taichi couldn't help but feel newly relieved each time he remembered such a fact. He didn't know what he would have done if he had to listen to misinformation about them on top of everything else. 

When the final day of the school week finally arrived, Taichi was more than happy to embrace it. He kept on expecting something to happen day in and day out, and every moment left him on edge and feeling like he was about to crumble. When he managed to push through a day without enduring an attack, he would go to sleep with a heavy sigh in his chest and exhaustion in his mind. He hadn't been this defensive before when it came to matters involving the Digimon. 

Once again, it all tied back into the lack of knowledge regarding this endeavor. Taichi detested the fact that they didn't know anything about what was happening with the Digimon affected by the black patches of data. No new information had come to light, and all Taichi felt like he knew was that the data could infect the Digimon who came into contact with them. Attacking the data would make it easy to unravel everything, and that was a positive in Taichi's eyes. Still, it left many questions that Taichi was desperate to find answers to. All he could do was watch as the clock continued to tick closer to the end of the school day though, and his gaze kept straying up to the familiar spot on the wall. Time never sped up the way that he was hoping, but Taichi wound up praying regardless. 

It had become almost customary already for Taichi to arrive in Daigo's classroom before most others in his period, and Taichi sat down in his regular chair early that afternoon. It was the last day of the school week, and the meeting with the rest of the Chosen Children was scheduled for the next day. He couldn't wait for it, and he tapped his fingers impatiently against the wood in front of himself as a way of passing the agonizing seconds. 

"You sure do seem worried about something."

Taichi cursed Daigo's sense of perception, and he perked up in his seat as his teacher turned around. Once again, Taichi caught a glance of those exhausted eyes, and he wondered what could have caused someone so young to fall apart under the power of the world around him. He frowned to himself, not making a scene about it, and shrugged his shoulders. 

"I guess so," Taichi finally managed to push out. He didn't want to continue if he could have avoided it. The last thing that he wanted was for Daigo to figure out that he was hiding something. Everything was messy enough as it was, and he didn't want his professor digging deeper into his personal affairs after everything that had happened on top of the disaster that his life had become. 

"Does it have anything to do with the recent monster attacks?" Daigo questioned curiously. His eyes were innocent but unreadable, and Taichi stared at him with something that he hoped resembled a painted sense of shock. He didn't know how Daigo had found the ability to catch on so easily, but he absolutely hated it already. 

"I guess so," Taichi shrugged to himself. "A lot has been happening with the new school year, and it's unfortunate that all of this is timed at once. I think that it's just adding a bit more stress than anybody really asked for." That sounded realistic, didn't it? Plus, it didn't tie him to what was happening at all. He was able to get his point across without getting Daigo onto him, and he would be able to resolve the issue before his professor could dig any deeper. 

Daigo hummed in response. "That makes sense," he said simply, and Taichi wondered why Daigo had asked such a deep and important question if he was only going to answer with a handful of words. 

Daigo approached his desk and pulled out a small piece of candy. It didn't take long for him to twist the plastic wrapper until it was ready to slip off, and he popped it into his mouth a moment later. That was one thing that Taichi had caught onto over the past few days as well; Daigo had an insatiable sweet tooth, and it was why he had brought a bag of donuts the first day of school. This was simply par for the course for him at this point, and Taichi had come to expect his teacher to open some piece of candy or sweet baked treat over the course of their brief daily conversations. 

"I've been worried about it lately too," Daigo confessed after a brief pause. "I don't know. I guess that it does give you a lo think about on top of everything that's already happening this time of year. The lack of clear photographs of the creatures only adds to the complications. It really does remind you of the previous digital monster disasters that took place in 1999 and 2002. Times have changed since then, hm?"

Taichi was glad that Daigo was facing away from him so that his teacher couldn't see the shock that flickered across his face. "Yeah, I guess so," he said softly. His mind started to race, and he found himself desperate to come up with an excuse that would be able to cover him in case Daigo tried to follow up on this particular subject further. 

Daigo let out a small chuckle. "I mean, this is on a far smaller scale than that sort of thing. Hikarigaoka descended into chaos a few years ago, and then there was what happened in 1999... Kind of hard to forget the sky tearing itself apart, wouldn't you say?" he questioned. When Taichi didn't respond, he laughed once again. "Times have been changing."

Taichi nodded slowly, choosing not to offer a formal reply. Luckily for him, another student entered the classroom soon after, and Taichi was granted his salvation. That was what exactly what he needed. Daigo never prolonged their conversation for long enough to give other students the chance to chime in. They were exclusively shared between Daigo and Taichi, and it was beyond nice to know that there was at least some sense of hope in case a particularly uncomfortable topic came up. 

As Daigo fell silent, Taichi began to stare up at the clock once again. Just as he had known, time hadn't sped up during his conversation with Daigo. He shook his head and tried to focus on something else despite the captivating desire to return to his wonderings about the Digital World and just what was happening there as of late. 

In the end, his thoughts shifted to Meiko, and Taichi found himself frowning. She hadn't spoken a word to him since that first day when Mimi pushed her in his direction, and he hadn't seen her while navigating their shared apartment building either. Taichi had learned from Mimi that Meiko lived on a different floor, and Taichi found himself thinking that Meiko was undoubtedly relieved to know that there was some space between them. After all, her nerves around him hadn't gotten any better. If anything, she just seemed more anxious than before, and it bothered him each time that he sat down in the desk near hers. 

He shook it off soon afterwards, and Taichi realized that class was starting around him. He had lost track of time in his thoughts about Meiko, and he decided that was likely for the best. Anything that made the clock feel like it was turning faster was a positive in his opinion, and Taichi was more than willing to embrace such an advantage. He closed his eyes as Daigo began to speak, and Taichi found himself internally counting the hours until he would be able to see the other members of the team. It wouldn't be long, and when they did meet up, he would be able to finally explain everything that had been bursting beneath the surface ever since Kuwagamon appeared. 

~~~~~

It wasn't until after the students left behind the classrooms to head for home that Daigo Nishijima reached for his phone once again. He shut the door carefully and let out a small sigh, doing his best to make sure that nobody was nearby. He was about to make an important call, and it was crucial that such matters remained private. As far as he could tell, it was too urgent to wait until after he got back home. After all, the one and only Maki Himekawa wouldn't have placed a call to him during class if his attention wasn't needed immediately. 

He was able to navigate easily to her contact, and muscle memory kicked in immediately. He had called Maki more times than he could ever hope to count because of their connections. The two had been close friends for more than fifteen years, and Daigo had cherished each and every minute of them. 

Daigo pressed the device against his ear after he had dialed her number, and he waited as the phone presented the regular ringing sound against his cheek. As soon as the ringing stopped, he spoke before the woman on the other side had the chance to. "Maki," Daigo greeted simply, a light smile appearing on his face. Even just talking on the phone with her was the perfect way to make him smile, and that had been true for as long as Daigo knew. He doubted that it would ever change, as a matter of fact. 

_"Afternoon,"_ Maki told Daigo in her signature smooth tone of blended exhaustion and tender frustration. Daigo could tell that she had been struggling with sleep as of late, and he resisted the urge to wince, knowing that she would have been able to pick up on it. _"I'm going to try and get more sleep tonight. Don't say anything about it."_

Daigo chuckled at her being able to read him like a book. That had been their dynamic for as long as he could remember, and he loved it more than he could ever hope to convey. "Alright, alright. Just so long as you're taking care of yourself," he told her with a gentle coo of a voice. "Why did you call me earlier? I was in the middle of class. You're lucky that I had my phone on vibrate so that it didn't disrupt everything that was going on."

 _"Because your theory was proven correct,"_ Maki answered, and that was enough to make Daigo let out a small hissing noise as he breathed in heavily between his teeth. _"Everything is starting to fall apart, and it's just as you said. I don't know what's causing it to crumble, but it's very clearly on the verge of completely collapsing. I didn't want to believe it, but... I'm afraid that we don't have much of a choice at this point."_

"Of course," Daigo murmured, unsure of what else he was even meant to say. He bit down on his lip, a habit that he had held since childhood, and tried to think about what could fit the situation. This was not the news that he had expected nor wanted to hear. He had only raised his suspicions to Maki a few days ago, but she had still come to conclusions at an incredibly fast pace. He shouldn't have expected anything less of her, in all honesty. If anyone was able to find results in record-breaking time, it was Maki Himekawa. It was one of the many reasons that Daigo was absolutely fascinated by her, and he had felt that way since they were young kids romping around without a care in the world, before the weight of the future had fully settled itself upon their youthful shoulders. 

_"How about you? Have you heard anything as of late?"_ Maki questioned, carrying on the conversation with effortless elegance. That was just like her, Daigo thought fondly. He should have expected her to do something like that, as a matter of fact. 

Unfortunately though, Daigo wasn't able to answer her question in the positive. He shook his head, sending his hair flying in directions that he refused to acknowledge. "Not yet. I'm still trying to dig deeper, but it's not as if he's in the mood to be open about this. I saw that coming from the beginning. Trying to find out more about them won't be easy when we aren't ready to talk about who we are either," he told her. 

_"I was afraid you'd say that. Today is just one string of bad news after another, huh?"_ Maki asked with a harsh bark of a laugh. _"Whatever. I shouldn't have expected anything else. You know how times are these days."_

Daigo made a mental note to remind her to sleep once again. Her tone, grating and low as it was, told him that she had slept even less than he thought. Maki only ever grew this pessimistic, bypassing her regular boundaries, when she was running on three hours of sleep maximum. "You know what they say about hitting rock bottom though. There's no place to go but up," he told her. 

Maki snorted, and he could hear her rolling her eyes. A smile spread across his face at the idea that he had made her happy despite the awful day that she was clearly having. _"I suppose that you're right,"_ she remarked, yielding all too easily to his positive tendencies. Nobody was able to make Maki happy on a dime like that quite like Daigo was. Their years of banter had led to an incredible relationship that had brought them both back from the brink more times than either one of them could ever hope to count. Daigo had been there for her from the beginning, and Maki more than returned the favor with her contrasting outlook on life. They were beyond different, resting at two opposing ends of a wide spectrum of personality, but they still got along perfectly. Opposites had never attracted before quite like Daigo and Maki. 

_"I should probably let you go for now, I don't want to keep you any longer than I have to,"_ Maki said next before Daigo could say anything else. He could tell by the hurried way that she was speaking that something else had come up, and he frowned to himself. He didn't want to let her go, in all honesty, as he had been looking forward to talking to her practically the whole day. 

"Alright," Daigo murmured. He glanced towards the nearby window and let out a sigh. "I'll do my best to get the chance to see you soon, Maki. Good luck for the rest of the evening. Maybe we can discuss this further over dinner sometime soon." A wry smile appeared on his face in response. This was a well-practiced game between them, and Daigo was more than used to it. 

Maki let out a small laugh once again. _"I'll see how it fits into my schedule. For now, I'll talk to you later,"_ she told him. Daigo got the feeling that she was secretly wishing to speak with him for a little bit longer, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice in the matter. If he had to guess, he would have assumed that she was being dragged away to take care of other subjects related to work. 

As soon as Maki hung up, the sound of the dead air coming through the phone left Daigo feeling lonely as could be. He hung up for himself soon afterwards and dropped his phone into his pocket. A sigh left his lips as he approached the window properly, allowing the afternoon sunshine to splash onto his face. It brought a smile to his lips, but it did little to actually raise his spirits in full. 

Times had been so chaotic as of late. It felt like he had been peaceful and fine just a few short days before, but then everything had turned into a mess that left him hurtling from moment to moment with no sense of direction or time. He shook his head and closed his eyes once again. At least he could look forward to sharing dinner with Maki. Their initial plans to meet had been canceled due to issues earlier in the week, but he wasn't about to let the chance slip away completely and bypass him again. 

For the moment though, all Daigo supposed that he could do was wait. At least the school week was over, and that gave him a chance to step back and take a deep breath. He already felt that he needed it even after just a few short days. He hoped that the rest of the year didn't follow this nauseating cycle of just waiting for the next point of salvation. More than that though, Daigo hoped for peace in the future, and he had no idea when exactly he was going to get it. 

~~~~~

The bell above the door of the ice cream shop jingled gently as Mimi walked in. She smiled to herself before turning her head over her shoulder and gesturing for Meiko to follow her in. Meiko did so after a moment of brief hesitation, and Mimi made her way to a nearby table after reading a sign that requested that they seat themselves until they were ready to order at the counter. 

It didn't take long for the two girls to slide in on opposite sides of a booth, and they were left facing each other as a result. Meiko smiled in Mimi's direction, but her grin was shaky and overflowing with nerves. On the other hand, Mimi carried herself with effortless elegance that almost seemed intimidating to her new companion. 

Mimi had been the one to propose the idea of going out for ice cream after school ended. The first week of school had been hectic for Meiko, and Mimi knew that she needed a break. Mimi had heard the unfortunate story involving the sudden moving of the Mochizuki family a few days prior; apparently, they had been meaning to leave Tottori to move into Odaiba before they did, but it felt as if one thing after another kept holding them back. In the end, they were lucky to arrive the day before school started, but that left them with more than enough to do regarding unpacking and getting settled into their new home. Meiko had told Mimi that it felt like she and her family spent nearly all of their time focusing on unpacking each night, and Mimi hadn't been able to stand for that. From there, their plans to go out for ice cream were founded, and that was how they wound up in the store they were currently sitting in. 

"The food here is amazing. I remember having it before I moved out to New York," Mimi told Meiko with a gracious smile. "I'd be more than happy to cover the cost of your food, Meiko. I know that you have a lot on your mind, and I brought enough for the both of us."

Meiko's eyes went wide, and she shook her head. "I couldn't ask you to do that," she told Mimi quickly. "I brought enough for my own ice cream, and I can totally handle it if that's what you're worried about."

Before Meiko had the chance to protest further, Mimi reached out her hand and took Meiko's fingers between her own. That was enough to soothe Meiko's nerves, and the black-haired girl let out a sigh before nodding. "Alright," she murmured softly. 

Mimi smiled as she pulled her hand back. "I know that times have been stressful for you as of late, but I have to ask... How are you settling in with school and stuff? I know that it isn't easy to move out of the blue like that. Even if you are looking forward to it, you can't be sure what will happen."

Meiko shrugged. "It's been harder than expected to make friends... I'm used to being homeschooled, but that isn't exactly an option out here given that my parents are working all day," she explained. "Everything is different here. I knew what was happening all the time in Tottori, but that isn't something I'm used to in Odaiba."

"I'm sure that you'll get the hang of it soon enough," Mimi assured her. "I'd be more than happy to help you get through it if you decide that you're looking for some extra assistance to get by through the year. It isn't easy to move somewhere new, but I know that you'll be able to handle it."

"Thank you, Mimi," Meiko said softly. She shook her head a moment later, almost as if she was dismissing a thought of the past. "I suppose that we should go on and order before we keep talking."

"Oh, good idea!" Mimi cried out as she got to her feet. She walked in the direction of the counter, still keeping her distance from the waitress behind the granite to ensure that she was aware that they weren't ready yet. Mimi pointed to the menu hanging on the wall above the counter, and she waited patiently for Meiko to decide what she wanted. 

Mimi got a mint chocolate chip sundae with a healthy helping of whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top with a few sprinkles scattered about. Meiko claimed that she didn't understand how Mimi could have so many strong flavors at once, but Mimi had simply laughed it off. After all, she didn't see anything strange about it. This was simply what she was used to. 

In the end, Meiko settled for something far more simple. She got a simple vanilla bean cup with a few chocolate pieces scattered about. As the two slid back into their seats, Mimi curled her spoon around the side of her cup to pick up a small dribble of chocolate sauce that threatened to spill over the side if she wasn't careful. She brought it up to her lips soon afterwards, and she laughed when she accidentally smeared some against her mouth. After dabbing it away with a napkin, Mimi took to fully indulging in her ice cream. 

Meiko took a bite of her own treat from across the table, and her eyes lit up as soon as she had it in her mouth. "This is amazing!" she cried out softly. "You were right to recommend the food here, Mimi. I don't think I've ever had ice cream this good."

"I know, right?" Mimi questioned with a bright grin. "I remembered loving this place before I moved to America, and as soon as I came back, I made it my priority to come here and make sure that it was just as amazing as I thought. Sure enough, I was right. It was a lovely treat back then, and it was just crying my name for me to bring you here now."

Meiko fell silent as she took another bite, and she shook her head quietly. "I don't know how you do it," she confessed. "You make friends so easily, and even though you lived in America for a few years, it's like you never left. Everything just fell into place so easily for you. I have to say... I wish I was a bit more like you."

Mimi's eyes shot up in surprise, and she smiled gently to Meiko. "You don't need to wish that you were like me, you know," she told the other girl. "I think that you're fine just the way you are. I get the feeling that you're thinking about what it would be like to be similar to me, but... I like spending time with you now, Meiko. Promise."

"Thanks," Meiko managed to say despite the embarrassed blush that rose in her cheeks. She took to continuing to eat her ice cream as a way of keeping herself from having to talk about what was happening. Mimi couldn't help but think about how sweet it was that Meiko got so easily flustered. It was part of Meiko's charm, and she didn't want her new friend to change when she was perfect the way that she was already. 

For a while, neither one of them said much of anything. Mimi was the one who broke the silence eventually, once she had managed to thin the amount of whipped cream down to half its original magnificent size. "How has time in your own class been? I know that I introduced you to Taichi a few days ago," she began conversationally. 

Meiko's shoulders went tense, and she looked everywhere possible to avoid meeting Mimi's eyes. "I don't know," she confessed. "I've seen him around a few times, but I don't know what to do around him. It's not that I have a reason to dislike Taichi or anything, but... I don't know. I suppose it's just a bit complicated."

Mimi felt her smile falter slightly at Meiko's words. She already had a sneaking suspicion that she knew why Meiko was so nervous about this. After all, Taichi had mentioned a few times to the other members of the team of Chosen Children that he felt like Meiko was the one who he saw during the fight against Kuwagamon. There hadn't been any evidence to prove such a fact, but Meiko knew better than to doubt his instincts. Taichi wasn't the type to be randomly cruel in the slightest; if he suspected that Meiko was involved, then Mimi was inclined to believe it. 

Of course, that brought up a few complications. As much as Mimi wanted to think that it was possible her newfound companion had a Digimon as well, Mimi almost didn't want to believe that it could have been true. Something was keeping her from embracing the idea, and it was one reason that she had opted for an ice cream store as their meeting spot as opposed to her own apartment. After all, she didn't want Meiko seeing Palmon if she truly didn't know anything about Digimon. 

"I understand," Mimi said with a wide grin once she had managed to force her doubts out of the forefront of her mind. "Taichi is a unique person, but I'm sure that you'll come to get along with him soon enough. He's a nice person, and I know that I have complete trust in him. If you ever find that you need something relating to school, all you need to do is find him. I know that you two live in the same apartment building, so that should make reaching out rather easy."

Meiko nodded. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she replied. "Thank you again for everything, Mimi. I don't know what I would do without you." She spooned her final bite of ice cream into her mouth before reaching into her school bag for her phone, and when she pulled out the device, Meiko released a small yelp. "I didn't realize how late it had gotten... I should probably get home to make sure that my parents don't need any help unpacking... Actually, it's likely just my mom at home now since my father should still be at work."

Mimi picked up her small cup of ice cream and took as large a bite as she could manage without making herself feel nauseous from a sudden brain freeze. "How about I come and help you?" she asked. "You have quite a few boxes to go through as far as I can tell, and I want to do what I can to help out. If you let me finish my ice cream, I'd be more than happy to pitch in."

"You would really do that?" Meiko questioned. When Mimi responded with a nod as she took another bite, Meiko's features relaxed into a smile. "Thank you, Mimi... I would appreciate that. I like spending time with you. Everything about you is so friendly and sweet. I don't know what I would do around here without someone like you showing me around. It was so nice of you to volunteer to help even though we didn't know each other before this."

"It's my pleasure," Mimi assured her. She focused her attention to draining the rest of her ice cream from her cup, and as she took in her last spoonful of minty ice cream, she set the utensil back into the bowl. "Alright then. Now that I'm finished, we're ready to go."

Mimi and Meiko both took care of paying at the counter after they had cleaned the table to the best of their ability, and they left the ice cream shop behind soon afterwards. Mimi felt as if she knew Meiko a bit better already, and she hoped that they would be able to keep up the momentum into the future. As they walked towards the Mochizuki apartment, Mimi found herself engaged in yet another conversation with the other girl, and once again, her complex hopes about Meiko being a Chosen Children left her completely lost on what to do next. 

Back at the apartment building, Meiko pulled her key from her pocket and slipped it into the lock effortlessly. When she opened the door, she gestured for Mimi to walk in ahead of her. Mimi gave her a grateful nod before going inside, and she gave a brief glance over the Mochizuki family's apartment with a gentle smile on her face. 

For the most part, the space was nothing special. There were boxes stacked high enough to almost grace the low ceilings of the main room, and the furniture was admittedly rather minimal. There was a couch sitting in front of a stand holding a television, and a table was set up with a few chairs in the kitchen area. Aside from that, there was next to nothing to make it clear that this apartment belonged to the Mochizuki family as opposed to any other group of people. Mimi assumed that all of the personal items were hiding in the boxes scattered about the room. 

"Give me a moment," Meiko told Mimi before she dashed off in the direction of what Mimi assumed was her room. Mimi watched her leave before letting out a small sigh. She was distantly aware of a sound that reminded her of a sliding balcony door being opened, but she didn't openly comment on it. 

A woman with dark hair in shoulder-length curls appeared from another one of the rooms, and Mimi assumed that this was Meiko's mother. She bowed her head respectfully before smiling in the woman's direction, and she waited patiently for a moment longer for Meiko to return to the room. 

When she did, Meiko glanced back and forth between the woman and Mimi. "Ah, yes," she said softly. "Mimi, this is my mother. Mom, this is Mimi. She offered to help us unpack a bit more. She's been showing me around school for the past few days."

Meiko's mother smiled graciously in Mimi's direction. "Thank you for everything that you've been doing for Meiko. She's mentioned you a few times since starting classes at her new school. She really does appreciate you," Meiko's mother told Mimi. 

The brown-haired girl smiled and resisted the blush that was starting to appear on her cheeks. "I'm happy to help," she assured the woman kindly. "Now, where should we start?" 

"Here we go," Meiko murmured as she pulled a box out from the top of a nearby stack. She was barely tall enough to reach it, and the box just about collapsed backwards into her arms as a light smile appeared on her face. "We can just start opening things and see what we find inside. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," Mimi grinned as she reached for another box and took a seat on the floor to start pulling open. She wondered for a brief moment if she had truly heard something open and shut within Meiko's room, but she decided to cast the thought aside. She could focus on that later. For the time being, all that mattered was having a bit of fun with Meiko. She could certainly use it after all that had happened in the past few days. 

~~~~~

The following day, Koushiro took a seat at the desk in his room, and he tried not to think about how crowded the space had become. The meeting between the Chosen Children had finally arrived, and all of them had wound up forced together into Koushiro's room as they discussed what was happening. It was far from being a comfortable scenario, but Koushiro assumed that it was less risky than speaking out in the main area of the house. His parents were used to seeing Tentomon around, but Koushiro wanted to wait a bit longer before explaining to them that there was the potential for another digital crisis on the horizon. 

Yamato, Sora, Miyako, and their partners were sitting on his bed, and the Digimon were mostly curled up in the laps of their human companions. It was a tight fit, but they somehow managed to make it work. In front of the bed on the floor, Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru sat with Agumon, Tailmon, and Patamon. Jou had Gomamon hanging in his arms as he stood near the door, and Mimi sat on the floor nearby. Daisuke and Iori were nearby, and Daisuke opted to sit with Veemon and Armadimon while Iori chose to stand. Armadimon only appeared to be halfway awake, and Koushiro couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he had woken up the drowsy Digimon earlier than he would have liked. Ken took up the remaining bit of space, crowded as it was, and Wormmon clung to his arm to make sure that he wasn't stepped on thanks to the chaos of the room. 

"We have a lot to talk about," Taichi began when he saw that everyone was settled in. Koushiro had to confess that hearing him say that made it seem like the situation was far less dire than it truly was. There were too many factors tying in with all of this as far as Koushiro was concerned, and he didn't even know where to start when it came to uncovering the truth. 

"Why don't you go on and tell them about what you've figured out?" Tentomon told Koushiro, nudging his partner with his arm gently from his place on the floor. He watched Koushiro with expectant eyes, and the redheaded boy knew that he wouldn't be able to resist that gaze for any longer than he already had. 

Koushiro cleared his throat and nodded. "Of course. There have been two recent attacks on Earth by Digimon who managed to break through the barrier between the worlds. We aren't sure about how they could have gotten through, but I will say that I'm trying to get into contact with Gennai to make sure that he doesn't have any new information that we're missing out on," he started. 

"The two attacks were led by Kuwagamon and Buraimon. In both cases, it seemed as if the Digimon were after members of our group when they were walking around Odaiba without their partners. Earth has been, with only a few exceptions, safer than the Digital World in terms of attacks. It's strange that this would start up again without any buildup," Tailmon remarked, her tail flickering back and forth dangerously to show her dissatisfaction with the situation. 

"In both cases, the Digimon had dark patches of data on their bodies that made them act strangely. When the patches were attacked, they completely changed demeanors, and though they were violent before, they became docile all of a sudden," Piyomon declared to the group. "Their color schemes were darker when they were under the control of the dark data as well."

"Exactly," Koushiro murmured. "That was what I had heard about too. I don't know what could have caused something like this, but I suspect that it's a type of virus that changes the way that the Digimon think and act. We've seen it in the past, albeit not in this form, so it isn't completely ridiculous to imply that it could happen again. The difference was that we had easy ways of identifying culprits in the past when we had a situation like this arise, but we're unfortunately clueless at the moment..."

"They couldn't have just gotten through the barrier on their own," Sora announced. "As far as we know, that isn't possible. Myotismon had to force his way through the gate by opening it with the portal found in his castle years ago, and other Digimon have used their own methods to get through the barrier as well. Diablomon traveled through the internet. We've always had some outside force allowing Digimon to travel between the worlds. It shouldn't be possible for them to simply hop through the gate whenever they so please."

"You're correct," Koushiro nodded. "Unfortunately though, I don't believe that we have any suspects regarding who could have potentially done this. We're the only ones who know how to open gates to the Digital World in this area. All of the Chosen Children around the world learned about opening gates from us, and if there were others around here, they probably wouldn't have a way of hearing about that unless they spoke with us first. I doubt that a Chosen Child would want to do all of this anyways. It wouldn't make much sense for someone who may or may not exist to cause so many issues for us involving the gateway..."

"I've been wondering about if Meiko, a girl in my class this year, could possibly be a Chosen Child," Taichi declared. "I don't think that she would be the one responsible for all of our recent issues, but... I swear that I saw someone who looked just like her the day of the Kuwagamon attack. She disappeared before I could really point her out to anyone, but I'm positive that she was there. There was an orange cat Digimon that helped us out as well, and I'm sure that Digimon is on our side. What if Meiko was the cat Digimon's partner? It would certainly make sense, wouldn't you say?"

"Meiko is new in town as well. That would make sense as to why we haven't heard about her yet," Agumon mused as he leaned back against the bed. His head found a blank patch of space between Yamato and Sora's legs, but both of the humans were still close to touching him on either side. 

"We'll have to look into it more," Mimi sighed. "I don't know if she's one of us though. I spent some time at her apartment yesterday, and I didn't see anything that was out of the ordinary. I don't know if she was hiding her Digivice or not, but I suppose that's what we do, so it's most certainly possible for her to be doing that."

"There isn't enough evidence yet for us to come to any conclusions firmly," Jou pointed out. "It wouldn't be good if we started to accuse her without any real proof, you know? That would probably just create tension between us and her, and that's the last thing that we want regardless of if she is a Chosen Child or not."

"In that case, let's think about something else," Wormmon suggested. His attention shifted back to Koushiro. "You said that you were in contact with Gennai, didn't you?"

"To a degree," Koushiro replied as he glanced down at the floor. "I've been trying to reach out to him, but he hasn't been answering any of my messages. I'm afraid that I don't know why that is though... It's like he's disappeared off the face of the planet. No matter how many times I try to reach out, he doesn't respond."

"For a long time, that was normal for him," Taichi commented with a light snort. "It was so hard for us to get into contact with him at first, remember? It wasn't until after more than three years had passed after our original adventures in the Digital World that we started being able to contact him somewhat regularly, and I don't even know if I would really call it regular to be able to speak with him once in a blue moon."

"Still, I like to think that we've established a routine since then, and it's weird that nothing is happening all of a sudden," Armadimon drawled from his place on the floor. He had perked up since the intense discussion got started, and his eyes were starting to shine with curiosity about the situation at hand. 

"I'm going to keep trying to reach out to him. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to tell all of you as soon as possible. I don't want to be left in suspense any longer than necessary," Koushiro told the group with a light smile. "If we need to, we can always go to the Digital World to speak with Qinglongmon. I'm sure that he would be more than happy to talk to us about everything that has happened in the past few days. He might know something as well."

"What are we waiting for then?" Miyako questioned as she rose to attention at the mention of the Digital World. "If we think that going there is going to help, then we should go on and get to it. It's better to be safe rather than sorry when it comes to things like this in my opinion."

"We can go over a few last bits of housekeeping before we set out for the Digital World," Gabumon suggested. "I know that I want to hear a bit more about the dark patches of data that you've mentioned a few times. Since I wasn't there, I don't know all that much about them."

"In both cases, there were dark segments of what appeared to be data planted on the outside of a Digimon. Kuwagamon and Buraimon both had them on their shell and wing respectively. They were violent and didn't seem to care what was going on around them in the slightest while they were under the influence of the dark data, but as soon as the patch was hit and destroyed, they went back to normal. It was as if nothing happened to make them act strangely in the first place," Takeru explained. "Hikari told me about what happened with Kuwagamon. She said that it was almost as if he had been possessed."

"Buraimon certainly fit that description," Ken murmured as he closed his eyes in contemplative thought. "He wasn't acting normally in the slightest. I almost thought that he had been taken over by something as well, and that was before we saw the dark patch of data. It was unsettling, to say the least... Plus, he was going after Miyako. She didn't have her Digivice showing, and she didn't have any Digimon with her."

"We don't have any other enemies out there, right?" Daisuke questioned after a brief pause. When the room was silent in response, he sighed and shook his head. "I don't get it... If we had old foes out there who still remembered who we were, then I guess that would make sense, but I don't think that's the case. Besides, when did they ever know how to go after us personally?"

"It was methodical," Ken continued softly. "Buraimon was targeting Miyako directly, and I doubt that he was planning on stopping. I believe that the same thing happened with Kuwagamon when he was chasing Taichi. Before others appeared, the Digimon were going after members of our group exclusively. They could have caused some severe damage and hurt many people if they weren't stopped quickly enough. We were lucky to be able to destroy the dark patches before anything worse could happen where others were caught in the crossfire of combat."

Koushiro felt a shiver run up his spine at Ken's words. He had already heard about such a fact from other sources before the meeting began, but it bothered him to hear it once again. The Digimon that were coming in from the Digital World knew exactly who they were, and that was likely the core of the attacks in the first place. He had no conclusive evidence of such a fact quite yet, but he could sense that there was something going on behind the scenes that he wasn't yet aware of. 

There weren't any enemies that they were aware of who were still out there and would want to target them directly. Their foe undoubtedly knew that they were Chosen Children even without them carrying the Digimon with them, and that made it clear that there was somebody out there who knew everything about the group without needing to encounter them. Koushiro's mind began to race as he tried to tick off the potential suspects for enemies who would know who they were. In the end, he declined every suggestion that his mind proposed when he realized that all of the enemies who would possibly apply had been defeated a long time ago and wouldn't be able to cause problems given that they were regenerated in the Village of Beginnings ages prior. 

"I don't know how we're supposed to figure out the truth behind this situation when we barely know what we're going up against," Tentomon announced, and Koushiro was left wondering if his thought process had been that obvious for Tentomon to pick up on it from afar. "We'll have to figure out something sooner rather than later if we want to fight back."

"We can't fight against the infected Digimon forever," Iori concluded firmly. "If we allow this to continue more than it already has, then we're going to find ourselves in trouble with severe damage to the city. No people have been hurt yet as far as we're aware, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen. If we aren't able to stop the enemy Digimon before they can lash out, we're going to have a few injuries on our hands, and we don't want that at all."

"You're right," Yamato agreed with a soft sigh. "We'll do what we can to figure out who the culprit of all this is. I'm sure that we'll be able to find answers if we do enough digging. Plus, we have allies in the Digital World who will be able to fill us in on anything that happens on the other side of the barrier."

"I guess that all we can do now is head over there and see if we can do any looking around," Gomamon declared as he grinned with his regular charm. "We might as well see if there's anything sticking out that could lead us in the right direction. Plus, we could see if the barrier is weakening on that side the way that it has been here."

"The barrier couldn't degrade so suddenly that Digimon would be able to coast through without the use of a gate," Koushiro murmured. "I don't think that it's possible. We've never seen the barrier deteriorate to such a degree, and for all we know, something like that can't even happen. Our enemies have a way of getting through the barrier, and we need to figure out what that method is as soon as possible to keep them from using it again to hurt anyone."

"Imagine if the other teams around the world get into trouble like this," Mimi murmured, and Koushiro remembered with a wince that Mimi was particularly close with the Chosen Children of America due to her time overseas. It was only natural that she would worry about them even if there wasn't any evidence quite yet of their foes breaking through in other nations. Thus far, it was only an issue in Odaiba, but Koushiro understood where her concerns were coming from completely. 

"We'll be sure to stay in contact with them so that we know if something like that happens," Takeru assured her with an easy smile on his face. Koushiro was thankful for Takeru's effortless ability to cheer up anyone in even the darkest of situations. It was part of his charm, and it was something that Koushiro certainly admired since he didn't have any ideas in the slightest as to how to replicate something of that nature. 

Sora glanced in the direction of Koushiro's computer and began to fiddle with her Digivice. "If you ask me, we should go on and see what we can find in the Digital World sooner rather than later. I don't know how much longer we'll all be able to stay in here without it getting uncomfortable," she told the group. 

As much as Koushiro hated to admit it, she had a point. His bedroom was a small space on a good day, and it certainly wasn't made for twelve Chosen Children and their Digimon. It would have been easier for them all to cram inside when they were still young and small, but Koushiro knew that it was best to not push it further than was absolutely necessary given how much times had changed. 

Koushiro began to pull up the program for the gate soon afterwards as he nodded to himself. Sora was right, and he couldn't wait to go back to the Digital World. It wasn't common for the group to go there these days due to other life obligations, and Koushiro knew that he missed seeing what was on the other side of the barrier. The Digimon spent more time there than the Chosen Children when they were recuperating their energy. They had been granted extra strength to stay on Earth by Qinglongmon three years prior, but that didn't mean that they had an infinite amount of time to remain on the Earth side of the gate. They still needed to recharge every once in a while. 

It wasn't going to be easy to give the Digimon the chance to do something like that in the future given the situation, Koushiro had to admit. Everyone was on edge and didn't know how they were going to handle the future. There was uncertainty lurking around every corner, and the Buraimon attack from a few days prior had made it clear that this was going to be a pattern rather than simply a one-off incident that they could ignore as soon as it was over. 

The program for the gate appeared on the screen, and Koushiro watched as the familiar screen slid into view. A smile spread across his face, and his chest instinctively filled with a fluttering sensation. Going to the Digital World always filled him with a childish sense of glee that he never wanted to leave. He didn't think that it would ever get old. He was glad that they had a chance to bridge the gate between worlds because of the pure euphoria that it provided to all of them. 

Koushiro turned his head over his shoulder, and his gaze locked specifically onto Miyako. The young woman had a fiery gleam to her gaze, and Koushiro knew that she was happy to have been called upon for this task. It had become tradition over the years for Miyako to be the one to take everyone to the Digital World, and Koushiro wouldn't have had it any other way. There was something about Miyako that just seemed to work so perfectly with the idea of traveling through the gate between worlds. His smile only deepened when he saw her raise her D-3 in the direction of the screen. 

Miyako closed the distance between her current position and the gate, and all of the Chosen Children all rose to their feet in response, crowding around the computer in preparation for their travel between worlds. The Digimon followed suit, and soon enough, all of them were in a crowded circle that surrounded Koushiro's desk. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was going to work until they could get into the Digital World. Koushiro rose from his chair and pushed it out of the way so that there were no worries of anyone hitting themselves against it on the way through the gate. 

Miyako held up her D-3 once again, and Koushiro could hear her familiar words before she even had the chance to speak them. However, he realized soon afterwards that she hadn't said anything at all. A frown appeared on his face as he glanced in Miyako's direction. He was about to ask what was wrong, but her expression told him loud and clear that there was something off. Her uneasiness almost made him a bit nauseous even after just a brief moment of watching her. 

"Something's wrong."

~~~~~

All things considered, the barrier between Earth and the Digital World was easy to get through if you knew what you were doing. 

Another robed figure made his way to the other side and watched the skies as another Digimon began to swoop through the heavens. He held his hand over his face to make sure that the sun didn't temporarily steal his vision when he wasn't paying attention. Still, he supposed that it didn't matter. After all, he had managed to accomplish his objective, and that was what he cared about above all else. It had to be his priority. 

The robed figure this time was the third one to break through the gate. He was used to this song and dance after having been told about how it worked a dozen times or more. His superiors had said that there was something important that he had to do, and the robed figure had simply smiled and nodded. After all, he knew that they were right. He was going to stop the Chosen Children even though the others before him had failed. It was par for the course. 

None of them had seen him or his subordinates yet, but he knew that it didn't matter at all. In fact, there wouldn't have even been a difference between him and the others around him if they had tried to find one. At a first glance, everyone would have assumed that they were one and the same without any exceptions. There were no shifts in appearance because of what they were and what they had come from. Perhaps 'who' would have been a more accurate term, but that was a nitpick that the robed figure chose to not bother with. 

The Digimon that swirled overhead was one that he had managed to capture from a desert region of the Digital World. All it had taken was a swift motion to slap the patch of data against its wing when it wasn't paying attention. News hadn't yet spread through the Digital World that there was something wrong at all, and the robed figure was beyond happy to know this. After all, that would have only complicated matters further, and the last thing that he wanted was to have to put up with something that would make this more frustrating than it already was. 

It was only a matter of time before everyone learned that there was a force acting against the Digital World. They had operated out of the shadows for quite some time, but they would come to light soon enough. Of course, it would only be because they wanted to be seen. They hadn't ever been discovered against their will, and the robed figure doubted that something like that was going to change after all that had happened. They were experienced in the idea of keeping secrets, and all of the robed figures had been trained in what to do if anybody just so happened to stray a bit too far into the darkness and learned something they shouldn't have. Simply put, the trespasser wouldn't last much longer than that. 

The robed figure slunk into the darkness once again and waited for the shadows to fully consume him. He couldn't be seen no matter what happened. The truth had to be a secret for a while longer. Still, he had to confess that he wondered what would have happened if the Chosen Children figured out what he was. The instant that his face was exposed, everything would turn to shock on their end. Perhaps they would have been too surprised to bother fighting back against him. That certainly would have been delectable. 

He couldn't be caught up in such fantasies though. The world was waiting for him to act and make history. There were too many others counting on his actions for him to back down. He knew what he had to do, and attacking with another Digimon with a dark patch of data was the most important step for the time being. 

He had many other patches of data on hand. All of them did, as a matter of fact. They were easy to apply, and one of these days, they would have proven such a fact where everyone was able to see it. Still, for the time being, they had been told to act small and sow the seeds of doubt while the plans were finalized for the greater endeavors that were waiting for them later down the line. The time would come soon enough, and the robed figure couldn't wait to see what happened. He was normally a patient person, or at least that was what he liked to think of himself, but this was the one exception. It made his stomach thrash anxiously as he wondered just what the future would have in store for him and others who followed in his footsteps. 

At that moment though, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the Chosen Children noticed what had happened. It was what they always did, and the robed figure was fully aware of how predictable they were. In a way, it was almost hilarious to him, but he didn't have time for laughter in that instant. He was going to wait and see what they did and then report the new information back to his superiors. Maybe the possessed Digimon of the day would have blood on its hands when dusk arrived. That would have only made everything better. 

Only time would be able to tell. The future was distant yet close, and he couldn't wait to see what it had in store. He watched the skies until the Digimon that he had brought with him disappeared over the rooftops of buildings. Soon enough, his efforts would yield results, and he was giddy with anticipation for what was to come next. A mighty battle cry pierced the sky, and it echoed in his mind with a beautiful sense of violence. Everything was about to hit yet another peak, and he was sure that it would be perfect regardless of the outcome. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter time! Woo!
> 
> I have to say that I rather liked working on this chapter. For one, we finally got the meeting of the Chosen Children where everyone is together in one room. Poor kids having to cram into Koushiro's bedroom all at once. I don't even want to imagine how hot it got when all of them were sitting in there together. Rest in peace, y'all. 
> 
> Another scene that I loved was Daigo's conversation with Maki. Yeah, here she is! Maki hasn't shown up physically yet, but she will be here. Maki is, to put it quite simply, very different from her Tri interpretation in canon. I don't think that I can say enough how much I liked writing her dynamic with Daigo and Maki since they're just nice quality childhood friends. It'll only get better when Maki shows up in person rather than just over the phone. 
> 
> My favorite part of this chapter was probably the part with Mimi and Meiko. Mimi is the one showing Meiko around the school even if they're in different grades, and I felt like it was perfectly Mimi for her to invite Meiko to help settle down after moving to a new town. Since she knows what it's like to move, she definitely would be sympathetic to the lonely plight that comes with Meiko coming to Odaiba. Them going out for ice cream was an added bonus to show off their contrasting personalities. 
> 
> Speaking of the ice cream, I threw a little Adventure easter egg in there along the way. Meiko's ice cream was pretty basic to show how she's a minimalistic person, but Mimi's was very over the top and extravagant. That's a reference to her mother's cooking that comes up in episode 35 of Adventure when the group is back at home. I think it comes up in the Adventure novels as well, though I could be mistaken there. Mimi's mother is very openly wild with her cooking adventures, and since Mimi is used to wacky stuff like that, I felt like it would make sense if she overloaded her ice cream with a bunch of contrasting flavors. It's a character detail to show the differences between them as well as a little teaser for anybody who remembers everything about Adventure in extreme detail. 
> 
> That should be all there is to say about this chapter. I'm going to leave things off here. Next time around, we're going to keep chugging along. For now, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
> 
> -Digital


	5. Discoveries Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group encounters a new Digimon in Odaiba before running into an unexpected face in the heat of the battle.

Hikari caught sight of a flash of darkness outside the window, and she let out a gasp. She was near the front of the group alongside Koushiro, Miyako, and their partners, giving her a clear view of the world outside the window. She glanced over in Miyako's direction, waiting for confirmation as to if her companion had seen what she had. 

The first person to take off running was Ken. He was stationed near the back of the crowd, and Hikari was willing to take that as a reassurance that she was not the only one who had seen the sudden flash. The rest of the Chosen Children followed him, and their trip to the Digital World was forgotten immediately. Hikari was glad that Miyako hadn't opened the gateway yet for them to pass through. If her suspicions were to be confirmed, then that meant that they were about to find another Digimon behind the recent rough events. 

Koushiro called something over his shoulder to his parents to say that they were going out, but Hikari didn't quite catch the details. Her heart was starting to pound incredibly quickly, and she had to force herself to come to a halt to thank Koushiro's parents for their hospitality before she took off for the door once again. She slipped into her shoes as quickly as she could manage before making her way to the stairs. They wouldn't all fit in the elevator, and she decided that the stairs would be the safer bet. 

When the Chosen Children arrived on the street itself, Hikari turned her face to the sky with a frown. She could have sworn that she saw something, and even if she couldn't pin down any details as it was, she was determined to figure out what it was that had caught her attention. Tailmon's ears twitched, and Hikari glanced down to her partner to see if she had found anything that stuck out as particularly strange. 

"There!" Tailmon suddenly exclaimed, one gloved paw pointing towards the sky where a Digimon with large dark wings was swirling overhead. Hikari's free hand came to her mouth, and she realized that she had unfortunately struck gold when she assumed that they were under attack from new outside force. 

"There's another patch of dark data on the wing!" Patamon cried out. He had taken flight from Takeru's arms at one point, and he was flapping his wings as he moved closer to get a better look at their foe. "We had better evolve to make sure that nothing bad happens!"

"Who even is that?" Miyako asked. Her expression had been overcome with stress, and Hikari had to say that she couldn't blame her friend for being worried in the slightest. She was concerned as well, and her stomach twisted itself into a knot on instinct. 

Hikari took this as a chance to examine the Digimon in more detail. It was a bird covered in purple armor from the hips up, and white pants coated its legs. Yellow claws stuck out at the bottom of its arms and legs, and it held tightly to a pair of swords that had been slid free of red sheaths that hung at its waist. The black wings that folded out from the bird's back were majestic and terrifying, and even among the shadowy outline of the wings, Hikari could see the data sticking out. 

"Karatenmon," Veemon explained from his place on the ground next to Daisuke. "I remember hearing about Karatenmon a while ago. Those swords are really dangerous, and you don't want to be cut with them!"

"Why don't we go on and take care of the situation then?" Yamato questioned as he looked down to Gabumon. He had taken his Digivice between his fingers at some point when Hikari wasn't paying attention, and determination was gleaming in his sapphire eyes. 

"He's flying. Unless we can ground him, we're going to need flying Digimon to fight him," Sora pointed out. She scanned the skies afterwards, a frown knitted tightly on her features. "I don't see any other Digimon in the area, so I believe that it's safe enough to assume that he's alone here."

"Let's get going then!" Daisuke cried out as he held out his D-3. Veemon was immediately consumed in a bright turquoise glow, and Hikari couldn't help but smile at the sight of Veemon's evolution. 

"Veemon, evolve to... ExVeemon!"

Hikari was sure this time when ExVeemon took to the skies that he was going to get a chance to fight. He had been robbed of the opportunity before due to the battle drawing to a conclusion before he was able to unleash a blow, but things were different this time. Hikari wondered who the next volunteer would be. 

In the end, Hikari's questions were answered when Tentomon was wrapped in another bright light, and Kabuterimon was left in his place soon afterwards. He took after ExVeemon and soared into the sky. His silhouette was notably larger than Karatenmon's, and Hikari smiled to herself. She knew that the two of them together would have been more than enough to defeat Karatenmon. 

Stingmon was the next to take off, and that only solidified Hikari's opinion that the fight wasn't going to be lasting much longer. She watched as ExVeemon unleashed a powerful strike in Karatenmon's direction, and even though the bird Digimon blocked the attack before it could make contact, it was more than enough to send Karatenmon sliding backwards through the air. Kabuterimon appeared just behind Karatenmon before closing his claws around the bird Digimon's body, leaving Karatenmon struggling to move. 

Unfortunately, Kabuterimon's attempts to restrict his foe were cut off when Karatenmon slashed his swords and hit a soft spot on Kabuterimon's wrists. Kabuterimon was forced to release him, and Karatenmon weaved easily between ExVeemon and Stingmon when they attempted to attack once again. 

"What should we do while they're fighting against Karatenmon?" Jou questioned. He was still holding Gomamon tightly to his chest. "Not all of our Digimon can fly, and if we send more of them off to fight, we're going to attract more attention than we already are."

Hikari winced when she realized that, sure enough, there were others in the area standing and watching the battle. A few clusters of people had already run away, but some were too infatuated by the combat to retreat quite yet. Hikari wondered how easy it would have been to evacuate them and make sure that the area was safe in case Karatenmon began to dive down towards the ground. The Digimon infected with the dark patch of data hadn't started actively targeting other humans quite yet, but Hikari didn't want to give them the chance. 

"We should spread out and see if we can find the one who brought him through the gate," Ken suggested. "I'll stay here with Daisuke and Koushiro to make sure that Karatenmon doesn't cause any problems. The rest of you should scan the nearby area to make sure that there isn't anyone here who could let other Digimon pass through the barrier."

Hikari nodded her agreement. If half of them worked on evacuating while the others started to track down the one responsible for Karatenmon's travel between the worlds, then they would have an even greater chance of finding answers. She glanced over in Taichi's direction, waiting for him to designate the group with orders as to what was going to come next. 

"Sora, Mimi, Iori, and Jou, you're all with me. Let's make sure that the people here are taken away from the line of fire. We don't want anything bad to happen while they're focused on the fight. The rest of you should try to find the one who got Karatenmon across the barrier in the first place," Taichi declared. "We'll provide backup if that's what the fighting team needs, but for now, we should make sure that there aren't any enemy reinforcements. Let's go."

With the orders distributed, Hikari turned her attention to Yamato, Takeru, and Miyako. Gabumon morphed into Garurumon, and Hawkmon did the same to become Aquilamon. Hikari made her way onto Aquilamon's back when Miyako gestured for her to come closer. Takeru, meanwhile, mounted Garurumon behind Yamato while Patamon perched carefully atop his head. 

Aquilamon took to the skies soon afterwards after beating his wings once with immense strength. Miyako's hair whipped around every which way, and Hikari maneuvered her head to the side to make sure that she wasn't struck head-on with the lavender tresses when the wind grew to be a bit too violent. Tailmon's claws began to dig into her shirt, not enough to break through the fabric but still notable to Hikari. 

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Miyako muttered to herself. The words were only barely audible above the howling of the breeze on all sides. "Aquilamon, how about you? Do you see anything that could be considered suspicious?"

Aquilamon frowned, and Hikari knew already that this was far from being a good sign. "No," he answered simply. "I have no doubt that our foe can be found somewhere nearby, but I haven't seen any other Digimon. That means that the only one we need to focus on is Karatenmon."

"Having three Digimon get through the barrier on their own without any backup seems strange... As if we didn't already have enough evidence that our enemy has a free way to travel between the worlds," Tailmon remarked. "I don't know who could have that power aside from us though. I haven't heard of any Digimon being able to do something like this without consequence."

Hikari frowned as she continued to scan the ground below. Her hair was on the verge of coming free of its barrettes, so she reached up and pulled the pins free of her hair to make sure that they weren't lost to the strong gales surrounding her. She pushed her hair back from her gaze to clear up her line of vision before she caught sight of something shifting in an alleyway below. 

"Look down there!" Hikari cried out, pointing in the direction of the motion she had caught view of. Miyako and Tailmon immediately followed her instruction, and Aquilamon swerved in the direction of the moving figure. Hikari had no evidence that they were directly linked with what was taking place with Karatenmon, but something deep down told her that she needed to listen to her instincts here. She could simply tell that this was a matter that merited investigation as soon as possible. 

Hikari was about to reach for her phone to send a message to Takeru instructing him and Yamato to follow their guidance, but she could see that Garurumon had already caught on. The wolf had changed his course to follow in the direction that Aquilamon was traveling, and Hikari smiled to herself at the sight of their actions. If they worked together, they would be able to corner the one who had caused this issue. 

As Aquilamon grew closer to the suspect, the shadow began to dart between the silhouettes of buildings. Garurumon's paws slammed on the ground below, and he weaved in and out of passerby to make sure that he didn't hit anyone. His tail was kept high in the air to ensure that nobody was accidentally slapped on his way to carry out his mission. Hikari could see Takeru holding on for dear life to make sure that his hat wasn't stolen away by the wind. 

The shadow was growing more desperate, and Hikari could tell. She was curious as to why they were running so feverishly in the first place, and Hikari had to say that the speed at which their suspect was traveling didn't seem natural to her at all. In fact, it barely seemed to be possible for any human, and she was left wondering if perhaps they were up against something a bit stronger than what they had originally thought when seeing such a peculiar figure moments prior. 

"Is it a Digimon?" Miyako asked from her place in front of Hikari. It appeared that she had caught on as well, and her eyes were narrowed in the shadow's direction as she tried to rationalize how a person could move so quickly without suffering from any immediate consequences. 

Tailmon examined their prey as well, and Hikari watched as Garurumon attempted to close in on their target from the ground below. The suspect was cornered, and the hazy outline of a person in black vanished into the shadows. "I don't know," Tailmon finally admitted after her temporary analysis had drawn to a conclusion. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I can't say for sure right now. We need to get closer."

Aquilamon followed the direction immediately and pulled in to surround the figure from above. He flew in place with his wings beating confidently. Garurumon had managed to back the suspect into the corner of an alleyway, leaving no options for escape. The person, human or otherwise, wouldn't have stood a chance of going up without running into Aquilamon. Hikari didn't even think that scaling buildings of that size without equipment was possible, leaving only the street behind Garurumon as an escape option. It wasn't a completely feasible one for the shadow to take given that Garurumon was still blocking the pathway off. This was how they were going to figure out the truth behind what was happening. If this person was involved with the Digimon attacks, then they were going to hear it right then and there. 

That was what Hikari thought, at the very least. 

It only took a split second for the figure to reach into his pocket and pull out a small computer that wasn't any larger than the palm of their hand. Fingers slammed firmly against the keyboard before light exploded forth from the screen. The air around the figure began to contort until they were completely coated with illumination. The computer sucked them inside, and a moment later, the device disappeared as well. When the light finally subsided and gave way to nothingness, both the computer and person were gone, and there was no evidence to show that they had ever been there in the first place. 

Hikari's jaw dropped in surprise, and she glanced down to Tailmon to see that her partner was in much the same state. Aquilamon landed on the street behind Garurumon, giving Miyako, Hikari, and Tailmon the chance to slide off. Garurumon allowed Yamato, Takeru, and Patamon to leave his back behind as well, and all of them began to move closer to the spot where their enemy had been a few moments prior. Regardless of how close they got, the figure didn't reappear, and the computer was still just as gone as it had been when the person vanished into thin air. Despite their desperation for answers, they weren't able to pull the truth free of the situation at hand. None of them spoke, too confused as to what had happened to even attempt making heads or tails of a potential explanation. 

"He isn't here anymore," Yamato muttered with a frown. "I don't know what to do about that one. It was like he had the power to open up a barrier with that little computer. I didn't realize that was even possible."

"None of us did," Tailmon remarked softly with a frown appearing on her face. "I don't know who that was, but I don't think that it was a Digimon. Something about him felt off... It wasn't like a human either though. I think that he was something in between the two the groups, but I don't know how to describe it."

"The black clothing in this nice weather is suspicious," Miyako declared, placing her hands on her hips firmly. "What would be the reason for something like that? I just don't get any of it at all."

"Plus, he didn't seem to be stressed at all when it came to the Digimon," Takeru remarked. "He ran away, yes, but he didn't seem panicked at all by the fact that the Digimon were chasing him. If I had to guess, I would say that he knew exactly who they were and wasn't trying to cross any lines there."

"Cross any lines like acting suspicious around here," Aquilamon commented, his eyes narrowing slightly. "He didn't summon any other Digimon at the very least. That's a good thing. Even if we didn't know who that was or how he did it, we at least know that Karatenmon is the only Digimon in the area that we have to worry about fighting off. That's something good to keep in mind."

"I don't see any other pieces of evidence around here that we could use to find out who that was either," Hikari murmured with a small sigh. "We should go back to the others and tell them about what we found. Maybe the fight against Karatenmon is finished by now. I know that Karatenmon is outnumbered, so that puts the advantage on our side."

There were no objections as the group began to move back in the direction of the battle. Garurumon and Aquilamon shrunk back to their forms of Gabumon and Hawkmon respectively to draw less suspicion from the onlookers. Hikari pulled Tailmon a little bit closer to her chest, and she saw Patamon adjust himself from his place atop Takeru's head. None of them said anything, but Hikari didn't think that they had to speak for her to understand what they were thinking. 

All of them were wondering about who the hooded figure could have been. They didn't have any easy pieces of evidence that would point them in the right direction. At the very least, they had figured out who was likely responsible for sending Digimon through the barrier. They didn't have any theories as to how this was possible, but it was a start, and Hikari was more than willing to take it given the cluelessness they had been forced to endure up to that point. 

~~~~~

For the most part, funneling people away from the scene of the battle was a difficult job. Taichi found that there were many passerby trying to capture pictures on their phones, and all he could do was sigh knowing that catching a Digimon in detail on camera was next to impossible. Only specialized devices that had been touched by the Digital World even stood a chance of getting a picture, and Taichi could tell that the onlookers weren't seeing any success. A few of them complained quietly about how poorly the pictures had turned out, and Taichi wanted desperately to tell them to not worry about it, but he forced himself to stay quiet. After all, they weren't going to want to listen to him if he did anything to offend them regardless of if he was acting in their best interests or not. Humans could be petty creatures, after all, and Taichi was fully aware of this fact. 

The battle overhead against Karatenmon was going pretty well, Taichi had to say. Stingmon, Kabuterimon, and ExVeemon were showing their enemy what they were made of, and Taichi didn't think that they were going to have any issues with resolving the issue. Karatenmon was struggling to hold his own against them, though Taichi was forced to confess that there was more of a fight being put up than he would have expected. Karatenmon was an Adult Digimon as far as he was aware, and even against three Adults that were on the powerful side, Karatenmon was managing to hold his own. Taichi couldn't help but wonder just how much the dark data augmented the power of the person influenced by it. 

Karatenmon came close to whizzing against the ground, sweeping low to avoid a punch that ExVeemon dished in his direction. Taichi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when Karatenmon got a bit too close for comfort, and he resisted the urge to duck down and cover his head with both hands. The wind itself whistled around him, but luckily enough, it was enough to frighten the people who had previously been too impressed by the fight to consider running a priority. As soon as they recognized what was happening, they began to turn tail and run in whatever direction they could to avoid the onslaught from overhead. 

"I hope they stay safe," Mimi murmured, her eyes overflowing with worry as she watched the people move as far away as they could manage. She glanced down to Palmon and saw that her partner was watching her carefully. Mimi's fingers interlocked themselves with Palmon's a moment later, and the two simply stood there together for a long moment, enjoying one another's company and comforting the other silently. 

"We'll make sure that everything is fine," Jou assured her as he glanced up to the fight once again. Karatenmon had started to fly in a somewhat lopsided manner, and Taichi assumed that the bird's wing had been struck by an attack from one of the partner Digimon. He smiled to himself when he recognized that the weakened wing was the one carrying the dark data. All it would take was one more hit to seal the deal and dispel the possession. He was certain that any of the fighting Digimon would be able to take care of it without any issues. They knew what they were doing, and Taichi had nothing short of full confidence in all of them. 

Something began to shift out of the corner of his vision a moment later, and Taichi frowned before turning to see that there was a streak of orange moving atop the empty pavement. The area had grown desolate when people began to run, and that left more than enough space for the orange cat Digimon that he had seen before to hurtle themselves through the air and slam one fist directly into Karatenmon's weakened wing. The Digimon let out a final cry of pain, and Taichi realized that the dark patch of data had been struck along the way as Karatenmon's body began to go limp a moment later. 

Taichi watched for a moment as Karatenmon was grabbed by Kabuterimon, and the bug Digimon lowered his enemy against the ground slowly. Karatenmon was nearly completely unresponsive, and the only notable motion of his body was the rustling of his feathers when the wind blew through the area. As soon as he realized that Karatenmon wasn't going to be causing any other issues, Taichi turned his head over his shoulder to check the direction where the cat Digimon had come from. 

The orange cat had landed on the ground, and Taichi could see clearer than ever before that it was definitely a Digimon and not a common animal. The creature was about the same size as Agumon and most of the other Child Digimon, though they were certainly larger than Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon. He took a small step closer before forcing himself to stop. He could feel the gazes of the other Chosen Children as well, and he knew that they were watching to see what the Digimon did next. 

Taichi could hear footsteps from nearby, and part of him already knew exactly what he was going to see when he tilted his head up a few inches. Sure enough, there was Meiko, her hands folded carefully in front of her torso as she approached the cat Digimon. Her arms spread out when she reached down to pick up the small creature, and she pulled them into her grasp effortlessly. The cat nuzzled against her soon afterwards, letting out a small purring sound as soon as they realized that they were secure in her grip. Meiko barely seemed to want to acknowledge the Chosen Children even though Taichi was sure that she had already noticed them. The cat had simply captured her attention first, and Taichi already knew the reason why. 

Taichi's attention was only pulled away from Meiko when he heard a small rushing noise from nearby. He glanced over and realized that Iori was holding up a small computer in the direction of Karatenmon as Daisuke opened the gateway. The bird Digimon disappeared through the portal before Iori shut the laptop, and Taichi recognized that the device belonged to Koushiro. It was only natural that Iori would remember to go back and grab something like that. Taichi hadn't seen him much during the brief attempt to evacuate the area, and he had originally assumed that it was because of the difference in their heights, but this explanation made far more sense, and he had to silently applaud Iori for his preparation skills. 

After Karatenmon had disappeared from sight, Iori tucked the laptop under his arm. ExVeemon, Kabuterimon, and Stingmon all shrunk back down to their regular sizes and found their partners. Taichi watched them briefly before he turned his attention elsewhere, and he realized that Yamato and Hikari had returned with the rest of their group. He could tell by their dejected expressions that they hadn't managed to uncover any particularly notable information about their enemy. Still, Taichi was sure that they had done their best, and he couldn't hold anything against them for that. 

"Meiko?" Mimi asked carefully as the group fully came together around Meiko. Her expression was painted in confusion and a strange blend of betrayal that Taichi couldn't quite define. Her eyes were impossible to read, and they were so different from what he regularly classified as Mimi that it bothered him deep down. 

Meiko looked up when she heard Mimi's voice, and she swallowed dryly as she set the cat Digimon down by her feet. The cat curled around her legs, tail flickering from side to side gently. "I didn't expect to see you here, Mimi," Meiko whispered, refusing to meet anyone's gaze properly. "I heard that something was wrong, and I decided that I wanted to come and help as soon as possible."

"You have a partner Digimon?" Sora questioned as she glanced down to the cat at Meiko's feet. The Digimon's gaze hardened as soon as they realized they were being referred to, but it wasn't as if they were angry as much as simply protective. Taichi couldn't help but notice the differences in Meiko's demeanor compared to the way that her partner carried themselves. 

Meiko nodded, and a proud smile swelled across her features. "Meet Meicoomon," she replied. Meiko let out a gasp and reached towards her waistband before pulling a small Digivice free. It was the original model that Taichi and the rest of the first generation had. She turned her gaze to Mimi next, and her grin turned to something anxious. "I take it that these are your friends and their partners as well, but... I didn't realize that you had a partner Digimon too, Mimi. I thought I was the only one who did."

"Not at all," Mimi told her as she painted a smile on her face. Despite the grin, Taichi could still tell that she was bothered by how sudden this revelation was, but he had to admit that she was masking it masterfully. At the very least, Meiko wouldn't be able to pick up on it, and he supposed that was what mattered most. He could ask her about it later, and he was sure that the rest of the group would be able to do that as well. Mimi wore her heart on her sleeve, and it was only a matter of time before her true thoughts came out. 

Still, she shook it off for the time being as she reached out a hand towards Meiko, dragging her a few steps closer to the rest of the group. Meiko stumbled briefly before she recovered her balance, and she watched as Mimi began to gesture to the rest of the group. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone," Mimi continued. Meiko nodded slowly, allowing Mimi to give her the ins and outs of the group. It was a lot to take in all at once, and Taichi could tell by the way that Meiko was getting progressively more fidgety that it was going to take a while for her to process all of this new information. She did her best to make it seem as if she knew who was who though, and Meiko nodded along while doing her best to internalize each name and write it down in her mind as quickly as she could before Mimi shifted to the next pair. 

Throughout all of this, Taichi looked down and examined Meicoomon. The cat Digimon had come to be a bit more relaxed since the introductory conversation began, but he could tell that she was still somewhat tense. Meicoomon watched him in return with bright emerald eyes that told stories of maturity that he somehow doubted were par for the course with Child Digimon. In fact, Meicoomon seemed to resemble Tailmon more in demeanor than any of the other Digimon, and Taichi was left to wonder if perhaps Meicoomon was already at the Adult level. Tailmon was an Adult despite her small size implying otherwise, so it certainly wouldn't have been completely out of the realm of possibility. 

"How about we go and talk about this somewhere less public?" Sora suggested after names had been passed around. She seemed somewhat anxious, and Taichi remembered that they were still out in the street near where a large fight had taken place a few minutes prior. They were used to events of this nature, but not everyone was, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before other people showed up to investigate. After all, once they realized it was safe, curiosity would run rampant once again, and Taichi didn't want to be there when the chaos of recent events caused everything to shift for better or worse. 

The walk back to Koushiro's apartment felt like it lasted a thousand years despite only being a few minutes. Taichi found that he kept glancing over his shoulder to see if he could glean any new information from Meiko or her mysterious partner. Meiko still seemed a bit anxious, and Meicoomon's expression was passive and impossible to read. Taichi suspected that it was because she was on edge about the whole situation. Meicoomon had been around them briefly before, but seeing so many other Chosen Children at once, especially after suspecting that they were the only ones, had to bother her a lot more than she was choosing to let on at a first glance. 

Cramming into Koushiro's bedroom was once gain quite a difficult feat, and the added filled space that came with another person and Digimon made the room get even warmer than before. Taichi felt like it was oppressively hot enough to be considered a steamy summer day rather than simply a nice midday in spring. He wished that there was a better place for all of them to get together, but he couldn't think of any other destination aside from the Digital World itself, and he didn't know how feasible that was or what Meiko's experience with the other realm involved. 

"Tell us everything," Mimi told Meiko after they were settled in. Meiko had been offered a place on Koushiro's bed by Sora, but Meiko had ultimately declined because she was too anxious to sit in one spot for too long. Taichi understood it completely given how suddenly all of this had been thrust upon her. The close quarters didn't help in the slightest. 

"Well... A few years ago, back in 2000 or so, I met Meicoomon in my hometown. She was wandering around in the woods, and she became pretty attached to me. From there, I got this device. I believe that we've come to know it as a Digivice... That's what instinct told me it was called, anyways," Meiko explained as she held up her Digivice. Pink festered on her cheeks at the attention she was getting as everyone watched her intently. "In Tottori, Meicoomon is the only Digimon. I didn't realize that there were others out there."

"You mean that she was your first experience with a Digimon?" Koushiro questioned, his eyes going wide in surprise. Taichi had to admit that he was surprised to hear this as well. As far as he was aware, there was one primary prerequisite to becoming a Chosen Child, and it didn't seem as if Meiko fit it with the information she had provided.

Meiko nodded. "I haven't seen anything since then either. We would have stayed in Tottori for a long time if not for my father getting a new job out here," she went on, refusing to meet anyone's gaze properly. "I didn't know that there were any others like us. I thought that we were the only ones."

"All of are Chosen Children too, and there are many others all over the world too," Sora told her with a kind, gentle smile. "You're in good hands here. If there's ever anything that you need between settling down or learning about the Digital World, all you need to do is ask. I understand that this must be a shock."

"We haven't had an expansion to our team since 2002 when Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken first joined us. It's nice to have a new face around," Takeru smiled casually. As to be expected, he was making Meiko feel welcome without even having to try. That was part of his routine, it seemed, and Takeru was still captivating and honest in a way that drew others in. 

Meiko didn't appear to be an exception to this rule, and her shoulders sagged with relief at his words. "Thank you for everything," she whispered. "When we first came here from Tottori, I wasn't sure about what we were going to do. Meicoomon is used to having a bunch of room to run around since there are many trees and fields back in Tottori for her to run around in. Odaiba is different though... It's taking a bit longer for her to get used to it."

"I get it," Agumon realized with a smile. "Meicoomon was looking around the city when the Kuwagamon attack happened, and that was when she appeared and fought it off. She disappeared after that though, so I guess you two got back together."

Meicoomon nodded her response. "That's correct," she said solemnly. She still didn't seem to be used to the circumstances of having so many people around, and Taichi could feel how uncomfortable she was even from across the room. He hoped that they would be able to go to the Digital World sooner rather than later so they could spread out more at the very least. He was starting to sweat, and he didn't think that was supposed to be happening at all given how nice of a day it was outside. 

"Do your parents know about Meicoomon?" Mimi asked with a small tilt of her head. "I didn't see her when I was at your house helping you unpack yesterday... Ah, wait! I remember now! You went into your room and slid the door to the balcony open, didn't you? That was when you let Meicoomon out so that I didn't see her."

"Yeah," Meiko confirmed. "I didn't realize that there were any others like us, so I decided to keep it secret unless I had a reason to talk about it. That was one thing my parents and I agreed on when we first moved out to Odaiba. It was going to be harder to hide Meicoomon's existence since the homes are far more consolidated here, but we wanted to try. They knew early on that Meicoomon wasn't just another cat. They know all about Digimon... Well, at least as much as they can know. We're all still pretty clueless at this point, if I'm being honest."

"Meiko hasn't ever been to the Digital World," Meicoomon chimed in, her green eyes shining. "I haven't been there since I first came to Earth to meet her either. We didn't realize that there was even a way to get back there."

"We can take you there," Mimi told Meiko with a grin. "I'm sure that you'd like it there. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to, but I'm sure that you'll have fun once you know what you're supposed to do. Besides, we can freely travel between the worlds now, so it seems like a perfect opportunity to show you around. Maybe we can get some answers about what's been happening in the past week along the way."

"What's been happening?" Meiko echoed as she glanced around the room, searching the expressions of the other Chosen Children in hopes that it would offer her the answers that she was seeking. "I know that there are Digimon coming in through the barrier, and I assume that isn't supposed to happen... I hadn't met any Digimon aside from Meicoomon up until recently. We had no way of going to the Digital World, and there weren't any others like us back home."

"It shouldn't be possible for Digimon to get through the barrier on their own," Jou told her as he scratched at the space between Gomamon's ears. "But we've been seeing a few monsters break through despite our best efforts to keep them from getting past us. The barrier between the worlds hasn't been this weak in a long time, and we don't know what's going on. I wish that we could tell you. Times have been a bit difficult for us as of late." He let out an anxious laugh as a way of lightening up the tension in the room, and when nobody else joined in, Gomamon gave him a sympathetic gaze. Jou took that as his excuse to be quiet, and he fell silent a few seconds later, leaving room for the others to take over and explain what they had found. 

"We actually found proof today that there's some outside force helping the Digimon to pass through the gate," Gabumon said with a smile on his face. "We found a suspicious person, and we began to chase him. In the end, he pulled out a small device that looked like a tiny laptop, and he managed to go through it to head back to the Digital World. He didn't have a Digivice or anything, so I don't know how he could have been able to pass between the worlds. He knew what he was doing too, and he didn't panic when he saw me and Aquilamon going after him. Well, he did panic, but it wasn't because we were Digimon. He was upset because we were following him, but he didn't get scared or anything over the fact that we were Digimon. He has to be used to seeing Digimon if that's the case."

"I don't know if he was a Digimon or not," Tailmon told the group next. "I have no way of saying for sure. He smelled... Strange. Not quite Digimon and not quite human either. I'm not sure about the explanation for something like that, but there isn't anything we can do about it now. He got away."

"So, the Digimon aren't just passing through the gate at random.. There's someone helping them out, and that means that this other person is probably the one infecting them with the power of the dark data patch that makes them more powerful," Ken concluded. "I don't know who would want to do something like that though. It's not as if we know of anybody who has a direct motive for causing this much chaos."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled then!" Veemon cried out confidently, his eyes shining with excitement. "I'm sure that we'll be able to take care of it when we get a lead. We can always go to the Digital World now. We don't have to worry about any other attacks right now since there was one just a little while ago, and so far, everything has been a few days apart. If we follow that pattern, then we've got a bit of time to spare."

"I don't want that trend to break now," Hikari murmured. She shook her head to dismiss the fear of something happening in their absence before looking to Meiko. The black-haired girl looked as confused as could be, and it was clear as day to the group of Chosen Children that she knew even less about matters of the Digital World than they had originally suspected. 

"What do you know about Digimon?" Daisuke questioned simply when he noticed everybody staring at Meiko. "You must have had a very different experience from the rest of us. We've been to the Digital World more times than we can count, but you've never crossed over. How did Meicoomon even wind up on Earth?"

Meiko shrugged. "Neither one of us is really sure. It just kind of happened one day, and we've been together ever since," she replied. "I'm afraid that I don't know much. Meicoomon told me what she could about the Digital World, saying that it was another realm where the Digimon come from. Aside from that though, I have to say that I don't know much. Meicoomon hasn't evolved since we met each other. She's been at the Adult level for the past five years, and nothing has come along for us to fight until recently. You all have way more experience than we do, that's for sure." She laughed nervously, picking up on Jou's anxious habit. Jou smiled in response, a silent sign of solidarity that Meiko seemed to understand immediately despite their lack of previous interaction. 

"You haven't ever fought anyone?" Mimi echoed. Meiko responded with a nod as Mimi continued. "Wow... Meicoomon was an Adult when you met her too... Tailmon is like that. She was an Adult when she first appeared to us, and that's the form that she stays in most of the time."

"You wouldn't guess that she's an Adult based on size alone... I saw how big your Digimon are when they hit that stage. They're so much larger than she is," Meiko commented, her eyes wide with wonder and awe. "I didn't know that there were other Digimon on Earth, and I certainly didn't realize that they fought one another... I'm sorry. This is all still very new to me, and I don't mean to make you explain everything to me."

"We all learn these things at our own pace. It took us some time to get used to it too," Sora told her with a smile. Piyomon nodded her agreement as Sora went on. "We might go to the Digital World soon if you want to join us. We have a few questions to ask our friends on the other side about what's been happening lately, and if you want to learn more, the best way is to experience it. That's how we all got used to fighting and the like."

"I... I would love to," Meiko confessed. She glanced down to Meicoomon to see how her partner felt, and the orange cat responded with a nod. "How do you even get to the Digital World? I think you mentioned earlier that you need a Digivice in order to get there, but I somehow doubt that's really all that you need..."

Iori approached Koushiro in the moments that followed, and he set down the redhead's laptop on his desk with incredible caution. Koushiro smiled in Iori's direction before nodding his polite thanks. Iori returned to his place against the wall near Armadimon as Koushiro took to opening the top screen and typing away at the keyboard. 

"The gate can be found in a computer program. In order to activate, you need one of these," Miyako explained as she reached for her D-3 and held it out for Meiko to see. "This is a D-3, and it's an upgraded model of the Digivice. It's what Daisuke, Iori, Ken, Takeru, Hikari, and I have. The rest of the group has the same original model that you do."

Koushiro nodded his confirmation as the program for the gate appeared. "When the D-3 is held up to the gateway program, we're able to travel over to the Digital World. It's how we've been able to move between the two worlds regularly over the past three years," he went on. "It would be easy for us to take you along when we went to the Digital World. Like Sora said, experience is the best teacher. It takes time to get used to the Digital World, but we're all here if you have any questions."

"Thank you so much," Meiko told the group as she bowed her head respectfully. "I don't know what to say. This is all happening so quickly, and you've been so kind about it as well... I want to learn more. If you're going to the Digital World, I want to come too. I might not know much yet, but I do want to get better. Thank you so much for everything that you've done for us both already. We really do appreciate it, don't we, Meicoomon?"

Meicoomon nodded to her partner. She was starting to fully relax, and her shoulders were no longer knotted tightly into a mass of tension atop her back. "We do," she responded simply. Her green eyes continued to scan over the rest of the group as she noted down all of the information that she needed to keep in mind from then on. Taichi met gazes with Meicoomon for a brief moment, but she moved on soon afterwards when she noticed that he was watching her back. 

"We all had to learn at one point. When we first went to the Digital World, our partners taught us as much as they could. Everything that they didn't know right off the bat was uncovered as time went on, and we figured it out together as a team," Sora said to Meiko with a perfectly natural smile that seemed to put the final traces of fear inside of Meiko to rest. "We'd be more than happy to assist you in learning more if that's what you think you need."

"I helped out the Chosen Children in America for a while when I lived there too," Mimi chimed in with a bright grin. "There are groups all over the world, and since I had more experience, they asked me about what I knew when they had questions. It was nice to be able to help them out, and I'm sure that we'll be able to do the same thing to do. Plus, we have a whole system of communication figured out with the other teams, so if you want to reach out to others who are newer to this, you totally have the option. Koushiro and Takeru know a bit more about that though since they were the ones who put it together as a whole."

Taichi nodded his confirmation. Mimi was certainly right about Koushiro and Takeru being experienced when it came to communicating with the other teams across the world. Following the world tour adventures three years prior, Koushiro had decided that he wanted to find a way for all of the groups to communicate as easily as possible. As soon as he heard about the idea, Takeru jumped on it and said that he wanted to do what he could to help, and everything simply unfolded perfectly from there. Taichi was happy that the two had put in so much effort to make sure that the website ran smoothly; it was certainly easier to use than text messages at times since it didn't require an exchange of phone numbers at first. It was rather user-friendly as well, and Taichi had to confess that he popped in from time to time to see what the other groups worldwide were up to in his absence. 

"Oh, you really do have this all figured out," Meiko commented with a nervous laugh. She raised her hand up to cover her mouth when she realized that everyone was still watching her. "I'll be sure to keep notes on everything that you have to tell me. Maybe we can go over this again after we go to the Digital World. I don't want to keep you any longer than I already have, and I can tell that you have quite the important discussion to take care of on the other side of the barrier..."

"We can go anytime. If we're taking you along, then now's as good a chance as any to see what else is out there," Miyako pointed out with a wink. She looked to Koushiro as a grin appeared on her face. "Are we ready to get going, Koushiro?"

The redheaded boy nodded in response, and he watched Miyako expectantly with the same eyes that had told her just a short half hour prior that she was meant to send the team over to the other world. It was tradition by this point, and none of them would dare to break it unless Miyako wasn't present to do the honors herself. In fact, even when she wasn't around, it didn't feel right to enter the gate without her familiar cry. 

"Just stand close and wait to see what happens," Palmon explained in her kind yet raspy voice. She raised one flowery hand in Meiko's direction, and the black-haired girl took Palmon's hand between her fingers gently. She seemed completely enthralled by the sight of another Digimon, and her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped. Taichi had to confess that it was almost strange to see Meiko, a teenager, having such an important experience with a Digimon by realizing that there was more out there than met the eye. After all, he was used to seeing that expression on children above others, though he supposed that this was as good a time as any to change his preconceived notions of the Digital World. 

It didn't take long for the group to form its crowd once again, and Miyako grinned when she realized that everyone was in place. She didn't even need to look over her shoulder to know that they were prepared. "Digital Gate, open!" Miyako cried out. "Chosen Children, let's roll!"

That was all that it took for Koushiro's bedroom to melt away and give way to something new. A realm of ones and zeroes formed around the group of teenagers and Digimon, leaving them all to whir through an imperceptible blend of time and space. It was just as enchanting as it had been the first time, and for a few precious moments, nothing mattered aside from the transitional sensation and the Digital World waiting on the other side. 

~~~~~

The scene of the Karatenmon fight was curious even long after the monster had disappeared. When the onlookers realized that there was no further danger, they had crawled out of hiding when curiosity took to their minds. Whispers were passed from lips to ears regarding the past incidents involving the Digimon ranging from the sky being torn open to the rampages in Hikarigaoka. Both times, the news had gone wild, and the past week had led some to believe that perhaps there was another digital disaster on their hands. 

Among the people in the crowd, Daigo could be found. His tired gaze searched the area, and he realized that there were police officers cordoning off the suspicious space for the sake of an investigation. His expression was unreadable, his lips pressed tightly together, as he examined the scene. It looked strange as a whole as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't fond of what he had heard about in the slightest. 

Rumors stated that the bird Digimon had appeared seemingly from nowhere and started swirling through the skies, almost as if it was searching for something. Karatenmon had only halted his search when he was attacked by another group of monsters, and a dozen teenagers had come together to make sure that nobody got hurt. The moment had been too chaotic for anybody to get a good description of them noted, and they certainly weren't anywhere to be found in the immediate area. That left it nearly impossible for anyone to track them down, and Daigo couldn't help but allow his mind to drift to curiosity about what the humans involved were doing in that moment. They must have gone somewhere, and he wondered if he would ever find out the truth of their current location. 

"I didn't realize I would find you here."

The familiar voice made Daigo turn on his heel, and he smiled when he caught sight of none other than the illustrious Maki Himekawa. She was exactly as he remembered her. Maki's brown hair was cut close to her face, and the sun reflected traces of red when the angle was just perfect. Her eyes were dark yet mischievous, a side that she only ever seemed to truly display when Daigo was present. She wore a dark suit in that moment, and her blazer seemed oddly stifling compared to the loose attitude that Daigo had grown used to seeing from her. Then again, he supposed that Maki had always been different in private moments when compared to her behavior in the open world. It was part of her nature, and Daigo had to confess that he felt oddly proud of being one of the few people who Maki trusted with her true face and emotions. 

"Maki," Daigo greeted simply as he faced her properly. "It's nice to see you. What brings you here? Was it the rumors of the monster attack that got you out of your office to see what was going on?" His last sentence prompted his face to break out into a grin, an easy way of making sure that Maki wasn't going too hard on herself. She had gained that habit somewhere along the way of their many years of friendship, and Daigo was the perfect one to pull her away from her negative outlook on life. 

Maki sighed and shook her head, and that was all Daigo needed to see to know that he had been right on with his suspicions. "I heard more than a few things about what took place, and I decided that I might as well see what all the fuss was about. Besides, as far as I can tell, you're in much the same situation," she pointed out as she examined him from top to bottom. "The difference is that I'm doing work right now while you are not."

"Lucky you, being able to get away from your regular job in order to investigate stuff like this, though I suppose that's because you're self-employed," Daigo commented. He jabbed an elbow in her direction lightly, another facet of their relationship formed by years of banter. "I wish I could be so lucky."

Maki snickered at his comment. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides, it's just a matter of time before you start to get in on the action. That's what I suspect, anyways." She didn't elaborate further, instead choosing to believe that Daigo understood what she was talking about. Sure enough, Daigo was able to catch on easily, and he smiled gently as she turned her attention to the scene. 

There hadn't been much damage during the fight itself. Witnesses stated that the battle had taken place in the sky for the most part, and Daigo thought that was an incredible relief. He didn't want to think about people getting hurt while going about their daily routines. The mere implication made him feel nauseous, if he was being honest. The greatest damage that had been done was to a nearby streetlight. The top of the post had been bent out of place, crumbling over itself about halfway up. Daigo winced at the sight, but he was glad to know that it was simply a streetlight as opposed to human lives that had been harmed in the process of the fight. It was a blessing that he knew to not take for granted. 

"It's just a matter of time before they catch wind of what's happened. I was out in the field when I heard about it, and I sent a message back to headquarters. Then again, I suppose that Hiraku probably already knew about it. You know how thorough he is," Maki told Daigo simply. 

"You're likely right," Daigo agreed. "Hiraku is amazing when it comes to finding out about things like this... I'm glad you were out and about though. At least you being here offers an extra layer of security in the name of making sure everyone is aware of what has taken place."

Maki hummed in response. Daigo gave her a brief glance out of the corner of his eye. Maki had come to work as a private investigator since their time together as children, and he had to confess that she certainly had a knack for finding out what she needed to know. Nobody could resist her when she shifted into her interrogative mode, and Daigo had always been thankful that he wouldn't wind up as the victim of her harsh side. He had to confess that Maki could be terrifying when she wanted to be, and Daigo was beyond glad that she hadn't ever been given a reason to turn such power against him. He didn't think that he would have been able to endure it. 

Daigo was snapped out of his daze by the words of the nearby police officers, and he realized that they were trying to funnel people out of the area. A black vehicle was rolling down the street nearby, and Daigo recognized the source immediately. The truck itself had no notable features, but Daigo knew where it had come from regardless. Maki did as well, and her shoulders grew thick with tension when she noticed what was taking place. 

"You ready?" Maki questioned of him simply. She reached down and took Daigo's fingers between her own. Her expression was detached, no doubt because they were focusing on work rather than enjoying themselves together. As soon as Maki stepped outside of her productive persona, everything would return to normal, and Daigo knew that it would be just as amazing as always. Maki hadn't let him down before, and he somehow doubted that she ever would. 

"I suppose so," Daigo responded with a shrug of his own. He shoved his hand into his pocket, and it fumbled tiredly for his wallet. When he finally found the surface of the leather, he pulled it free of the fabric and focused on unfolding it so that an identification card could be seen. Maki did something similar, though she was far more dignified about it. That was part of her charm, and Daigo wouldn't have had it any other way. She made everything that she did seem effortless, and Daigo wished that he had even a fraction of her elegance. Unfortunately, his exhaustion prevented him from such blessings, and he didn't think that he would ever be free of such a burden. After all, this had been a problem for almost as long as he could remember, and it hadn't disappeared in his many years of waiting. 

Daigo and Maki began to move through the crowd, and when they reached the line of officers, they glanced to one another. Their gazes said that they had a mutual understanding of what came next. Maki's eyes hardened with determination, and Daigo let out a final yawn before he forced himself to try and focus on the matter at hand. He knew what he had to do, and he wasn't going to back down no matter what happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! We're getting into the good stuff now! 
> 
> We're moving through the buildup stage at a pretty decent clip now, and Meiko's introduction to the team is an important part of that. She's just as new to this in Echo as she is in Tri, so that's one thing that hasn't changed at all. She's doing her best to adapt to everything, but since she hasn't ever been to the Digital World (or experienced anything involving Digimon outside of what Meicoomon has done with her), she's got a lot to learn. Good thing she has great teachers. 
> 
> On the subject of Meiko and Meicoomon, I want to talk about Meicoomon a little bit here. I know that one of my largest problems with Tri was how it infantilized the Digimon, turning them into one-note pets as opposed to actually fleshed-out characters like they were in previous seasons (Agumon's food obsession is the most obvious instance of this). Here, all of the Digimon are strictly following their previous interpretations, but since Meicoomon doesn't have anything like that, I'm going for something a little bit different. 
> 
> Meicoomon's behavior is meant to be on the level of Tailmon as far as maturity is concerned, but she's pretty introverted and tends to spend more time on her own or with Meiko since she isn't used to having others around. She's dignified and understands complex situations as opposed to being the chaos-causing toddler that she is in Tri, and I think that's an important upgrade given that I'm attempting to rectify the issues that I had with Tri. 
> 
> Regarding characters who were in Tri, we've got a cameo from Daigo and Maki there at the end! This is Maki's first time appearing physically, and her banter with Daigo is an absolute delight to work on. They're so sweet together, and I love seeing how they spend time together. Their relationship feels a lot more laidback and natural in this compared to canon. Are they dating? Maybe. I'm intentionally leaving it as open to interpretation as possible, so it's up to you to decide. I might be more specific with it later, but as of now, it's on the vague side on purpose. 
> 
> As for something that's a bit more explicit, the website of Chosen Children is a bit of lore taken from... Somewhere? I don't actually remember. It might be from the original Tri, as a matter of fact. I can't remember, but I liked the idea of Koushiro working on it with the international Chosen. Takeru pitching in is because his French heritage implies that he would be bilingual. It's just a little fact that I decided to throw in since the international Chosen Children are far more connected this time around. I can't say for sure if we'll be getting any cameos from them, but I am bringing them up simply because I can. 
> 
> That's all that I have to say for now. Next week, we'll follow the Chosen Children as they go to the Digital World for the first time this book and show Meiko what's going on there. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
> 
> -Digital

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoying my work? If you wish to receive updates on when I post new content, feel free to check out my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/__digitaldreams)  
> or [Discord server.](https://discord.gg/9MBReeF)  
> I occasionally post previews of upcoming stories on both, and there are discussion chats for my series on Discord. Any sharing of my content or other interaction (kudos, comments, bookmarks, etc.) is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading, and I hope you're liking it so far!


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